The family of missing Yellowstone National Park employee Austin King is speaking out after his recent disappearance.
King’s parents, Brian King-Henke and Pandy King, immediately left their home in Minnesota following the news that their son did not return from a seven-day trip to Eagle Peak on Friday, Sept. 20, and having been staying at a local hotel in Wyoming, according to CBS affiliate KTVQ.
“Every day they come back with, you know, ‘We’re still looking. We’re not giving up. We’re still searching,’ ” King’s father to the outlet, revealing that upon hearing that his son was missing, he “couldn’t even think. It was something that you can’t fathom.”
Per his parents, King, 22, moved to Yellowstone this summer, which they admittedly encouraged him to do. However, they agreed that the trek was “something he was not prepared for,” King-Henke said.
Since then, his mother noted that the search and rescue efforts have continued at a steady pace. “The helicopters come and go every 15 minutes and that’s kind of how I’ve timed my life by every 15 minutes,” she said.
Despite the amount of days since the disappearance of their son — who last contacted his parents on Tuesday, Sept. 17 after reaching the peak, per KTVQ — Brian and Pandy are holding out hope for his safe return.
”It’s settling a little bit, but I’m there for his mom and brother,” King-Henke told the outlet about trying to stay positive amid growing feelings of defeat. “So, I can’t think that. I’m glad he was doing what he loved.”
In an update on Tuesday, Sept. 24, Yellowstone National Park confirmed via news release that the search for King is still active. “Yellowstone National Park, with assistance from Grand Teton National Park, Park County, Wyoming, and Teton County, Wyoming, continue to look for Austin King by foot and air in the vicinity of Eagle Peak in the park’s remote southeast corner,’ the park said.
Per the release, Yellowstone officials noted that since Saturday, Sept. 21, “85 personnel, two helicopters, a search dog team, and an uncrewed aircraft have focused efforts on the high-elevation, expansive and hazardous area” as they continue to look for King.
Park officials also said that there is no end to the search at this time, as authorities will continue looking “for the next several days.”
When asked for comment, representatives for Yellowstone National Park told PEOPLE that they “do not have additional information to share” beyond the release issued on Tuesday.
King, a concession worker, “was first dropped off at Terrace Point by boat on Saturday [Sept. 14],” Yellowstone National Park said in a missing person’s notice issued by the National Park Service and U.S. Department of Interior.
He then spoke to a backcountry ranger outside of his planned route at Howell Cr. cabin on Sept. 16, before embarking on his summit to Eagle Peak the next day, the park confirmed.
King was last heard from on Sept. 17, “when he called friends and family from the summit of Eagle Peak in the park’s remote southeast corner,” Yellowstone National Park stated in a news release first posted to Facebook on Sept. 22.
“While on the summit, King described fog, rain, sleet, hail and windy conditions,” the park said, revealing that his disappearance was first reported after “he failed to arrive for his boat pickup near Yellowstone Lake’s Southeast Arm on Friday afternoon,” following his trip.
At the time of his disappearance, King was “wearing glasses, a black sweatshirt and gray pants,” the park said, noting that he is 6 feet tall 6’, weighs 160 lbs and has brown hair and hazel eyes.
