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A third day of intensive ground and aerial coverage in upper Wahiawa ended Friday with yet no sign of missing hiker Justin Clark.
Clark, 32, left his Wahiawa home Tuesday morning to hike the 3.5-mile Schofield-Waikane Trail and has not been seen since.
Clark’s family has speculated that he may have errantly followed one of the many smaller trails that branch out from the main trail in an attempt to get to a nearby pool.
Access to the trail is restricted because it is through the Army’s Schofield Barracks East Range, and written permission is required by the Army.
During his hike, Clark sent a text to his mother, Shirley Seeger, indicating that he had fallen a few times trying to get out of a narrow spot but had made his way to a ridge.
Seeger told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that her son last contacted her via text at 4:08 p.m. Tuesday. Seeger and her husband tried unsuccessfully to look for Clark along the trail.
When Clark failed to return by the following morning, the couple alerted the Honolulu Fire Department, and an extensive ground and air search of the area was initiated.
The search continued Thursday with rescuers focusing on an area where a concentration of Clark’s cellphone transmissions originated.
On Friday, HFD deployed 17 rescue personnel from six companies, including an Air 1 helicopter, to resume air and ground searches of upper Wahiawa near the Schofield East Range. Once again, searchers were unable to detect any visual or auditory clue to Clark’s whereabouts.
Operations were suspended at sunset.
HFD spokesman Capt. David Jenkins said the search would resume Saturday morning.
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