On July 18, 1962, Alan Douglas Visher, nearly 12 years old disappeared while hiking with his family in Kings Canyon National Park, Fresno County, California. He was part of a large Sierra Club–led backcountry expedition comprising roughly 50 people. Alan was walking with his mother, sister, and two brothers in the Tehipite Valley region, near Dog Creek .
The group journeyed to Simpson Meadow by evening to establish camp. It was then discovered that Alan had not been seen since roughly 2:00 pm that afternoon, despite extensive awareness and cooperation within the party. Immediately thereafter, a multi-agency search operation was launched, involving park authorities and possibly other regional agencies, but no trace of Alan was ever found.
Alan’s physical profile has been documented: a White male, standing between 4'0" and 4'10" estimated to weigh between 75 and 100 pounds. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a wide-brim straw hat, a brownish shirt, blue jeans, and Red Wing boots, and was carrying a backpack containing a sweater and food.
Additional contextual details reveal that Alan was the son of Bay Area psychiatrist Dr. John Visher. Despite Alan’s disappearance, his body was never recovered and the case remains unsolved decades later.
In summary, Alan Visher vanished without a trace while hiking near Dog Creek in Tehipite Valley on the afternoon of July 18, 1962—after becoming separated from his family within a large Sierra Club group. A prompt and comprehensive search yielded no evidence or closure, leaving this as one of the enduring mysteries of Kings Canyon National Park.
Last Seen: Jul 18, 1962
