News Release

Search Continues for Missing Mississippi Woman in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Mrs. Gomez

NPS

News Release Date: October 28, 2019

Contact: Sintia Kawasaki-Yee, 559-565-3131

SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. October 28, 2019 – The search for missing Mary Joanna Gomez, 56-year-old from Mississippi, continues with growing search teams and limited clues. Mrs. Gomez has been on assignment in the Bay Area as a traveling nurse, and arrived in Kings Canyon National Park on Wednesday, October 23rd on her day off. Her last communication with family was on October 24th when she text messaged her daughter with photos taken in different areas of Kings Canyon. She was expected back to work on October 25th, missed her shift, and her family reported her missing to the San Francisco Police Department.

National Park Service (NPS) staff place her in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park on the morning of Saturday, October 26th. That night, shortly before midnight, her vehicle was located along the Generals Highway near a trailhead by a park ranger. It had not been at that trailhead earlier in the day. 

Multiple teams are actively searching the area surrounding her vehicle with search dogs, air craft and search teams on foot. Her husband and daughter arrived in Kings Canyon on Sunday, October 27th and are with NPS staff.

The investigation continues and all updates will be posted to the Inciweb site as it becomes available: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6655/.

If you have been in the parks since Wednesday, October 23rd, specifically in the Little Baldy area, and you think you may have seen Mrs. Gomez or her vehicle, please call the tip line at 888-677-2746.

-NPS-