Stanford professor who failed to return from 40-mile walk ahead of domestic violence hearing

A Stanford University professor is being charged with allegedly slamming his girlfriend’s door, missing the hearing and has not been seen since he began a walking tour in Washington state on Monday.

Hunter Fraser, 44, made the 40-mile trek in Olympic National Park at the start of the week and was scheduled to finish it and return to Seattle on Wednesday.

His trial in Santa Clara County, California, was scheduled for Friday, in which Fraser was charged with causing bodily harm to a spouse.

Around 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday, park rangers told the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office that Fraser was well overdue.

His family has not heard from him since a text message Tuesday morning and has not been seen by anyone since Monday afternoon.

His car was found in a parking lot on the park’s grounds. County rescue teams have yet to find him.

The professor was described in a statement from the sheriff’s office as an “extremely experienced solo hiker” and would have been good for supplies by bringing a backpack and a tent.

“Hunter is an experienced outdoorsman and well supplied,” Stanford spokesperson Joy Leighton told the Mercury News. “We hope for his safe return.”

Fraser’s sister Whitney posted updates at Facebook twice on Friday, saying ‘4-5 teams’ were on the ground with sniffer dogs and a rescue helicopter was trying to find her brother.

She adds that rescue teams will continue to search through Saturday.

His criminal case dates back to July 4, 2022, when he got into an argument with his girlfriend of five and a half years in their Stanford apartment while playing a game with his young daughter from a previous relationship.

Fraser is charged with slamming a door on his girlfriend and beating her chest with the handle. She also claims that Fraser threw her to the floor before slamming her with the door.

Fraser was soon after arrested, imprisoned and charged with a felony. Prosecutors later reclassified the case as a felony.

Fraser made the 40-mile trek in Olympic National Park at the beginning of the week and was scheduled to finish it and return to Seattle on Wednesday

Crews have searched Olympic National Park since Fraser was reported missing and will continue their search through Saturday

His trial in Santa Clara County, California was scheduled for Friday, in which Fraser was charged with causing bodily harm to a spouse at their California home.

According to police, the victim suffered broken ribs in the incident The Stanford Daily.

The professor did address the allegations in an e-mail to his laboratory after an initial hearing.

“While I cannot go into details here while the case is pending, I would like to inform you that the allegations against me are not true,” he wrote.

“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 shocking.”

“In our current cultural moment, I realize that my words may arouse skepticism, but they are the truth,” he added, asking people to “let the process fully complete before jumping to conclusions.”

Fraser’s family has not heard from him since a text Tuesday morning and has not been seen by anyone since Monday afternoon

Fraser’s criminal case dates back to July 4, 2022, when he got into an argument with his girlfriend of five and a half years in their Stanford apartment while playing a game with his young daughter.

Multiple student groups at the time called for Fraser to be removed from campus, though he continued to work, and officials stated it was a “personal matter,” according to a post created by a submitter to send Fraser away.

The petition also posted three vandalism and trespassing citations against Fraser in 2022.

Fraser teaches biology at Stanford and directs the Fraser Laboratory, as well as Bio-X, Stanford’s interdisciplinary life sciences institute; the Maternal & Child Health Research Institute; the Stanford Cancer Institute; and the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

Fraser is 6 feet 4 inches tall with a “trim build” and usually wears glasses, according to the sheriff’s office.