Search in Yosemite for missing man who asked to be alone to read Bible

A search is under way at Yosemite National Park for a 22-year-old man who disappeared Sunday after telling friends he wanted to be alone for half an hour to read his Bible.

More than 100 rescuers from Tuolomne, Mono, Marin and Santa Clara counties resumed their search this morning for Esmyn Garmendia-Barrios, a native of Honduras who is believed to be living in Fresno.

"It is very difficult terrain," said Adrienne Freeman, a Yosemite spokeswoman.

Garmendia-Barrios drove to the park with friends Sunday afternoon to see the waterfalls, she said. They stopped at Washburn Point, a popular lookout on Glacier Point Road, and Garmendia-Barrios asked for a brief period of solitude, Freeman said. When his companions returned 30 minutes later, he was gone.

Park rangers were soon notified and a search began. An expanded search Monday failed to locate signs of the missing man.

"We are concentrating right now in the area around Washburn," Freeman said. "Our goal is to do a detailed ground search from there."

Weather conditions at the 6,000-foot spot have been moderate, she said.

Garmendia-Barrios is 5-foot-7 with brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing blue jeans, a blue T-shirt and black shoes. He speaks Spanish fluently, as well as some English, and was carrying a Bible, Freeman said.

"He's a muscular guy," she said. "He's a soccer player and is in good shape. He probably has a high survivability because he's fit. But it's also a negative for us because it means he could have traveled a far distance."

Park officials are asking any visitors who were in the Glacier Point, Washburn Point or Sentinel Dome areas after 2 p.m. Sunday to contact investigators.

"We want to hear from everybody who may have been in the area," Freeman said. "Even if they did not see the missing man, it helps us if we can rule out places."

Investigators can be reached at (209) 372-0311.