Search continues in Big Sur for Arvin Nelson

Crews continued to search Tuesday for a 55-year-old Big Sur man who went missing while hiking.

Arvin Nelson, an experienced hiker and a server at the Big Sur River Inn, left for an eight-day backpacking trip in the Ventana Wilderness earlier this month. He was dropped off by a friend at China Camp in the Carmel Valley and planned to hike the eastern side of the Ventana.

Nelson told his friends that if he didn’t make contact with them by Friday, Aug. 15, they should report him missing. A missing report was filed Aug. 16 and crews have been searching ever since.

Search efforts have been aided by the National Guard, Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, California Highway Patrol, Monterey County Urban Search and Rescue, the Coast Guard and search-and-rescue teams from multiple counties, including Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, San Benito and Marin.

Search efforts are expected to continue until at least Thursday, officials said this week.