Mt. Rainier Park Worker Still Missing -- Woman, 43, Likes To Hike

Mount Rainier search parties have been looking two days for a concessions employee missing since Friday evening.

Sheila Kearns, 43, was last seen eating dinner about 6:30 p.m. Friday in the park's employee lounge in Longmire. When she did not show up for work Saturday and Sunday, her supervisor called for help, said communication supervisor Lance Gillispie.

Ground teams have checked trails and sent bloodhounds to track Kearns' scent, Gillispie said, but have found nothing.

Kearns likes to hike and searchers assumed she had become lost on one of the park's trails, Gillispie said.

Kearns has been employed as a housekeeper by Mount Rainier Guest Services Inc. since the summer. Gillispie said her family, who live in North Carolina, has not heard from Kearns since her disappearance.

"She was considered a very reliable and conscientious employee," Gillispie said. "It's like she vanished."

Kearns' 1994 Nissan was found parked outside her home in Longmire, a small community within the park with housing for park employees. Her neighbors say they did not notice anything suspicious in the area, Gillispie said.

Kearns is described as white, 5-foot-7, 140 pounds, with long dark hair.

She was last seen wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt and pants and lightweight hiking boots.

Gillispie said search teams would be out again today.