Yosemite officials: 1 body ID'd, another discovered

Officials today confirmed that a body found last week was that of one of two Central Valley hikers missing since being swept over Vernal Fall in July.

Yosemite National Park Rangers also found a second body near the same area on Saturday; an autopsy will be conducted to confirm if it is the second missing hiker.

A ranger searching in the Merced River found the body of Ninos Yacoub on Nov. 29. It was about 100 feet below the Vernal Fall footbridge, park spokesman Scott Gediman said. A swift-water rescue team recovered the body and the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Department conducted an autopsy.

On Saturday, a ranger searching in the same general area, about a half-mile from the falls, found another body. A Mariposa pathologist will conduct an autopsy to determine whether it is that of Ramina Badal.

Badal, 21, Yacoub, 27, and Hormiz “Nenos” David, 22, fell into the river and were swept over the 317-foot waterfall July 19 while on a day trip to Yosemite National Park with friends. Search crews found and recovered David’s body Aug. 5.

All three hikers were from the Central Valley — Badal lived in Manteca, Yacoub in Turlock and David in Modesto.

Badal’s father, Tony, said this afternoon the family is waiting for further word from park rangers or the coroner’s office, expected later this week.

“We are getting ready to hear the news,” he said, adding that he appreciates the National Park Service’s work in looking for the hikers and keeping their families informed.

Rangers have been conducting regular searches along the popular Mist Trail, which ends at the top of Vernal Fall. The recent drop in the river’s speed — 30 cubic feet per second last week and 15 cubic feet per second on Saturday — allowed rangers to get into the water and look deeper, Gediman said.

The incident, which occurred when the three joined friends they’d met through a Ceres church, prompted an outpouring of grief and support from the area’s close-knit Assyrian community. Hundreds turned out for prayer vigils, and for David’s memorial service in August.

Asher Paulus, David’s uncle, said the family remains in shock over what happened.

“In all honesty, my sister and her husband, the way we look at it, their life is over,” Paulus said. “She’s young, only 49. She has to live the rest of her life with the idea of losing her only son.”

Devout Christians, Shamiran and Sargon David recently went to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage for Nenos.

“She went with the idea of feeling the spirit right there of her son,” Paulus said. “She felt good about that.”

Bee staff writer Patty Guerra can be reached at (209) 578-2343.

This story was originally published December 5, 2011 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Yosemite officials: 1 body ID'd, another discovered."