The desperate search for a missing porter on Mount Kenya has ended in tragedy, with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) confirming the recovery of Samuel Macharia Wanjohi’s body high in the mountain’s unforgiving terrain.
Wanjohi, an experienced porter, vanished on December 23, 2025, while trekking the challenging Sirimon–Shipton route in Mt. Kenya National Park. After more than two weeks of relentless searching through brutal weather and treacherous landscape, rangers located his body on January 9 in Hinde Valley at approximately 4,300 metres above sea level, off the Marania trail (GPS coordinates: 37M0314002 UTM 9985389).
KWS launched an immediate, round-the-clock rescue operation the moment the disappearance was reported, deploying its elite Mountain Search and Rescue Unit alongside National Police Service officers, aerial surveillance teams, local guides, porters, and even Wanjohi’s own family members.
The multi-agency effort scoured vast and hostile areas — Shipton Camp, Austrian Hut, Mackinder’s Valley, Sendeyo, Hinde Valley, Mintos, the Timau Route and beyond — battling freezing temperatures, heavy fog and near-zero visibility.
“Despite the extreme conditions, the courage and solidarity shown by everyone involved were extraordinary,” KWS said in a statement.
The discovery brings a sorrowful close to an intensive operation that gripped the Mount Kenya climbing community.
KWS reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing safety protocols and emergency response in Kenya’s high-altitude protected areas. The service extended heartfelt condolences to Wanjohi’s family, friends, fellow porters, guides and the wider Mt. Kenya community in their time of profound grief.
