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Search continues for missing Yosemite hiker

Yosemite National Park visitors snap photos from behind the guard rails at Vernal Fall.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Two more dog teams were being brought in to search Tuesday for a missing 73-year-old hiker last seen at a waterfall in Yosemite National Park where three people died two years ago.

Rangers are hoping the dog teams will catch a scent of Kenneth Stensby, a Minnesota man described in a park statement as an “avid hiker.”

Stensby had been staying at Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel for several days and left a note with the staff Sunday morning saying he expected to be back from his hike by noon, park officials said.

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But Stensby didn’t come back. His day pack was found later Sunday near the guard rails at the top of Vernal Fall, a 317-foot drop on the Merced River, officials said. His camera was missing.

Park officials are asking other hikers and tourists if they saw Stensby at any point Sunday or Monday. They have also asked that visitors check their cameras for photos of the missing man.

Anyone with information about Stensby is asked to call (209) 372-0432.

Vernal Fall is a popular stop for park visitors, albeit one that has made headlines in recent years.

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In August, a 10-year-old boy and his 6-year-old brother died after they were caught in a current at the Vernal Fall footbridge. The summer before, three people were swept over the waterfall after witnesses said they climbed over the barricade at the top. None survived.

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Twitter: @LATimesHekutor | hector.becerra@latimes.com

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