A California professor who had just been charged with felony domestic abuse went missing after leaving on a hiking trip in Washington and never coming back.
According to KRON4, Hunter Fraser, a professor of biology at Stanford University, was due to show up in court on June 9 for a preliminary hearing in a case where he is accused of felony domestic abuse.According to the outlet, while playing with their daughter on July 4, 2022, Fraser allegedly shoved his girlfriend to the floor and slammed a door on her chest.
An officer noticed a “large swath of redness with the imprint of a door handle on [the woman’s] skin,” according to a police report obtained by the Stanford Daily.
According to reports, the woman had two broken ribs.
Following his arrest in September of last year, Fraser, 44, was first charged with a misdemeanor; however, after the District Attorney’s office was provided with proof of the woman’s injuries, the charges were upgraded to felonies.
On June 5, he embarked on a two-day, 40-mile journey in Washington’s Olympic National Park. On June 7, when park guards alerted the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office of a late hiker, he was reported missing.
The Deer Ridge Trailhead, which is a challenging trek, is where Fraser left his car, according to the Washington Trails Association. Police described Fraser as a “extremely skilled solo hiker” and began a search there.
It’s challenging for rescue crews because it’s unclear exactly which route the professor went.
When he texted his family on Tuesday morning, Fraser was last seen.
The National Park Service noted that although several search and rescue teams from the park and local police departments were dispatched to the region, the “high country of Olympic National Park is still very much covered in snow.”
Fraser has refuted every accusation made against him, claiming he has never been the subject of such claims.
“While I am prevented from going into details here while the case is pending, I do want you to know that the allegations against me are untrue,” Fraser wrote in an email, obtained by The Standford Daily, to his lab the Fraser Laboratory. “At no point in my career or in my personal life has anyone ever made such an accusation or allegation against me before. This has all been incredibly jarring.”
Fraser said current affairs make it hard for people to believe him and that they should wait for the court process to end before judging him.
“In our current cultural moment, I realize that my words may stir skepticism, but they are the truth,” he added, “allow the process to be fully completed before reaching any conclusions.”
Whitney, Fraser’s sister, gave updates on the search and mentioned some hotspots, urging anyone with information to contact the sheriff’s dispatch.
According to court records seen by The Post, a new court date is set for June 28.
