Into the Wild. Gone Without a Trace.
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David Paul Morrison Missing From Half Dome Yosemite National Park

Last seen near Half Dome, California, USA

Missing for 28 years and 3 months

Case narrative

A reconstruction of the events leading up to the disappearance.

David Paul Morrison Missing in Yosemite National Park

We have limited information on the disappearance of David Paul Morrison. If you have verifiable updates or factual details, please email site”-at-“vanished.us.

Who Was David Paul Morrison?

On May 25th, 1998, David Paul Morrison was hiking in Yosemite National Park with a group of friends. He was:

  • 5'9", 150 lbs
  • wearing a grey long‑sleeved UC Santa Cruz sweatshirt
  • a white T‑shirt
  • black sweatpants or faded navy shorts
  • Nike Air sneakers
  • and a black, green, and yellow Osprey fanny pack

Inside that fanny pack was his credit card — an item his mother, Susan Quinn, always believed would eventually surface.

She said:

“He had a little fanny pack. In it was his credit card. We always thought someday one of those things would be found. I guess in my heart I thought someday that is going to show up… but then they would have to know to turn it in, and that is the difference.”

Nothing has ever been recovered.

The Disappearance

David was fit, healthy, and active, but he was not equipped for an overnight stay in the wilderness. He wasn’t dressed for the cold, wet weather that moved into Yosemite that day.

At some point during the outing, David became separated from his group — the point of separation, the pattern that repeats across so many Yosemite disappearances.

He never returned. He was never seen again. And none of his belongings — not the fanny pack, not the credit card, not a single item — has ever been found.

Vanished.us Says

This is one of those Yosemite cases where the silence is the most unsettling part.

No remains. No clothing. No gear. No fanny pack. No credit card. Nothing.

Yosemite is a place where people fall, get injured, or become lost — but even then, something usually turns up. A shoe. A jacket. A wallet. A scrap of fabric. A clue.

But with David, the wilderness kept everything.

He wasn’t prepared for a night out. He wasn’t dressed for the weather. He wasn’t carrying survival gear. And yet the search produced zero trace.

It’s been decades. His family still waits for even the smallest item — a card, a strap, a piece of nylon — anything that proves where he went.

But Yosemite has given nothing back.

Another person who walked into the park and simply vanished.

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