Body of Missing Manhattan Beach Hiker Found Nine Months Later

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The body of a Manhattan Beach man who disappeared nearly nine months ago while hiking in the Sierra has been found, it was reported Friday.

The recovery of the remains of Robert Woodie — a former butcher who ran a handyman business in the South Bay — marks a grim end to a search that began in October, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Woodie, 74, was reported missing after he did not return from a four-day backpacking trek in Kings Canyon National Park. His solo hiking trip started on Oct. 13, and a satellite messaging device indicated Woodie was in the area of Barrett Lakes about Oct. 15.

"He was an experienced hiker," a spokesman for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks said in remarks reported by The Times. "He knew the area.”

Around the time of Woodie's trip, a cold spell hit the Sierra Nevada, with strong winds, temperatures below freezing at night and snow at higher elevations.

On July 6, a group of hikers along the Pacific Crest Trail found a body about 300 feet from the Bishop Pass trail. The next morning, authorities recovered the remains and the Inyo County coroner’s office identified the body as Woodie’s, county officials said in a statement.

Woodie, a 56-year resident of Manhattan Beach, is survived by a wife and two sons. After a three-decade career as a butcher, he retired and ran a handyman business, according to The Times.

City News Service

Photo via National Park Service