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The wife of an Australian backpacker missing more than a week in eastern Utah's rugged Uinta Mountains confessed Tuesday that she is becoming desperate about his fate.
"The only good news is the volunteers who have come forward [to help with the search]," Marilyn Koolstra said from a friend's Park City home. "There has not been a sighting of Eric since Aug. 2."
Eric Robinson, 64, had set out July 28 to hike the 60-mile Highline Trail. When he did not show up as expected Aug. 7 at the Highline trailhead near Mirror Lake, family and friends reported him missing.
He was last seen by a troop of Boy Scouts on Aug. 2, after he had apparently gotten confused and lost. Robinson was roughly 4 miles south of the trail, walking in the Yellowstone Creek drainage, Duchesne County Sheriff Travis Mitchell said.
The sheriff said searchers set out again at dawn Tuesday, concentrating on the areas around where Robinson was last spotted. Mitchell acknowledged that nine days into the search, worries for Robinson's welfare were increasing.
"Absolutely, they are, given all the factors, that he's a very experienced hiker — he's hiked all over the world — and that he had electronic devices with him, a cellphone and GPS unit and even an emergency beacon locator," Mitchell said.
However, the Uintas, where elevation ranges from 8,000 to 11,500 feet above sea level, are notorious for poor cellphone reception. And, the sheriff said, it appears the beacon Robinson brought with him from Australia may not be calibrated for use in the region.
Koolstra, an elementary school principal in Melbourne, Australia, said her husband thought he had done everything to ready himself for the trip, and he had been meticulous in his preparations. He even carried bear spray, she confirmed.
"He researched this [trip], read books, talked to people [who had hiked the trail]. He was well-prepared … and that heightens my concern," she said. "At the moment, we're thinking the worst may have happened.
"None of his belongings, his backpack, nothing has been found," Koolstra added.
Back in Australia, the couple's family, which includes nine grandchildren, are anxiously awaiting word. Also hoping for the best are students at the elementary school where Koolstra serves as a principal.
They are all trying to keep their hopes high, she said, adding: "We have nothing to go on right now."
Robinson was carrying a red backpack.
Anyone who sees Robinson — or wants to volunteer in the search — is urged to call the Sheriff's Office at 435-738-2015.