BODY OF MISSING RUNNER, 21, FOUND AT MISSION TRAILS
By Miriam Raftery
January 30, 2021 (San Diego) – The body of 21-year-old Max Lenail, who went missing while running in Mission Trails Regional Park yesterday, has been found by searchers.
His mother, Laurie Yoder, posted on a Facebook group set up to help find her son, “I’m sad to report that they have found and retrieved Max Lenail’s body from the Mission Trails park. It is every parent’s worst nightmare. The only silver lining is the incredible support that we’ve received over the last day from close friends and family, and from people we’ve never met from around the globe who tried to help. From the bottom of my heart I will never forget all of the people who reached out with kindness.”
His father, Ben Lenail, posted on his own Facebook page, “With unspeakable grief, I have to report that our beloved Max is dead. He was the victim of a freak accident while hiking in the wilderness near San Diego yesterday. As immensely cruel as his death is, we are grateful to God for loaning him to us for 21 years.”
SDPD confirmed in a Tweet which states that "hikers located a body in the water in the Mission Trails Regional Park." SDPD indicated the body was believed to be Lenail and that formal confirmation will be made by the Medical Examiner's office.
Lenail left North Park yesterday morning to go for a run in the park, but never returned. His white Subaru Outback was parked at a trailhead.
A massive land search was initiated at 9 a.m. this morning. San Diego Police had also asked for public help to find the missing runner.
According to his Facebook page, Max Lenail was from Palo Alto, California, has lived in Providence, Rhode Island and studied biology at Brown University.