Hayden Klemenok had reportedly bent down to wet his face on a hot day
The body of a man who went missing in Yosemite National Park before the Fourth of July holiday was found over the weekend.
Hayden T. Klemenok, of Petaluma, California, vanished on July 2 while backpacking with a group at Upper Chilnualna Falls.
The National Park Service said the 24-year-old went missing shortly after entering the fast-moving Chilnualna Creek near the trail junction.
That section of the creek is about a dozen miles south of Yosemite Valley.
Hayden Klemenok, 24, was last seen wearing a tan, brimmed hat, white sunglasses, red T-shirt, blue swimming trunks and white Adidas shoes. (Yosemite National Park)
Klemenok's body was found on Sunday and recovered on Monday.
The cause of the San Diego State University graduate's death remains under investigation, Yosemite National Park spokesperson Scott Gediman told The Associated Press.
Klemenok's sister, Taylor McKinnie, said in a statement on Facebook that his cause of death is "presumed to be an accidental drowning."
She said while officials had notified the family her brother had been located on Sunday, it took another 24 hours to formally recover him "due ot the complexity of his location."
Hyden Klemenok disappeared in the Chilnualna Creek near the trail junction at Upper Chilnualna Falls around 2 p.m. on Sunday. (Yosemite National Park)
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"We will never stop loving our Hayden, and today, are finally able to say we are all leaving Yosemite ‘together,'" McKinnie wrote.
"My beautiful son, you were a light in so many lives," their mother, Michelle Klemenok, wrote on her Facebook page. "I will miss you and love you forever."
A flooding Merced River and Half Dome are viewed on May 25, 2023, in Yosemite National Park, California. Following a record snowfall in the upper levels of Yosemite National Park and Sierra Crest, many of the meadows and campgrounds have been flooded as a high spring snow melt continues with summer approaching. (George Rose/Getty Images)
Klemenok’s parents told The San Francisco Chronicle that his friends said the day of the accident was hot, and that Hayden had gotten down on all fours to wet his face. However, his hands slipped and he went into the water.
"It’s the worst experience any parent or family should go through," she told the paper.
High water levels from melting snow in the Sierra Nevada backcountry creates a spectacular Bridalveil Fall waterfall as viewed on May 25, 2023, in Yosemite National Park, California. (George Rose/Getty Images)
Authorities have warned that rivers, streams and lakes are extremely hazardous this year due to massive runoff from winter snowpack.
The water is so cold that a person can reportedly lose muscle control within minutes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
