NEED TO KNOW
- 27-year-old Cole Henderson has been missing since he embarked on a solo hike in the Pyrenees Mountains on July 9
- Henderson is last known to have parked his car in the town of Torla and to have put his phone on airplane mode
- In Facebook posts, Friends have described Henderson as a keen hiker and an “avid planner”
Rescue teams in Spain are searching for an American hiker in the Pyrenees Moutains.
Cole Henderson, 27, is last known to have embarked on a solo hike in the remote Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park on July 9.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, July 15, his close friend Max Senoff said that Henderson parked his car in the town of Torla and texted some friends at 2 p.m. local time to let them know he was beginning his hike and putting his phone on airplane mode.
He has not been heard of since and missed his scheduled return flight to the Netherlands on July 12, Senoff added. He was reported missing on July 14, multiple outlets including CNN reported.
“His phone last pinged in Torla,” Senoff said in the post before admitting he didn’t know the exact route his friend took in the mountains, which run along the border of Spain and France.
Henderson was enjoying the last of his vacation in Spain after previously participating in the Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona, Senoff told the The New York Times. He was returning to Amsterdam, where he had been working and living, he added to the outlet.
Following the missing persons report, the Spanish police deployed helicopters and members of the Civil Guard’s specialty search and rescue teams, multiple outlets, including USA Today reported.
Henderson is an “avid planner,” and even shared his travel itinerary for Spain with friends before he departed, Senoff added to the The New York Times.
“He is great at bringing people together and very social guy,” Mr. Senoff added.
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“Cole is an experienced traveler, a kind and curious soul, and someone who means the world to me,” Senoff’s friend Eric Simon wrote in another Facebook post.
USA Today reported that there were some dangerous weather conditions in the region near the national park on July 10, with Hikers reportedly having to reroute their journey because of heavy rain and thunder.
“We’re coordinating with the mountain rescue patrol, American embassy, Spanish authorities and local search and rescue teams,” Simon wrote in his post. “But we’re also asking for help online — from travelers, hikers, locals, or anyone who might have been in the area or seen Cole in the last week.”
Henderson went to high school in Delaware and graduated from Rhodes College in Tennessee, USA Today reported.
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