A missing hiker was found on Sunday afternoon when he walked out of the backcountry under his own power after six nights in the Cascade Pass area of the park. Mark Albrecht, a 22-year old resident of Everett, Washington, was reported missing on Thursday, June 18th, when he did not return to work or check in with family after going hiking. The park was notified late Friday that Albrecht had planned to hike somewhere in the North Cascades range. A search was begun, and it was determined that he’d obtained a backcountry camping permit for the Cascade Pass area for the nights of June 15th and 16th. His car was also found at the corresponding trailhead. Albrecht said that he became disoriented in the thick and low fog cover on Wednesday morning as he descended from Sahale Glacier camp, where he had a permit to camp. Realizing that he was lost, he pitched his tent to await help. On Sunday morning, he made a successful attempt to find his way down a creek drainage to the Cascade River Road and to the rescue crews stationed at the Eldorado parking area. Approximately 60 searchers, including two dog teams, were involved in the search over the weekend. Teams of searchers included National Park Service employees and volunteer groups from Bellingham Mountain Rescue, Skagit Mountain Rescue, Olympic Mountain Rescue, Seattle Mountain Rescue, King County Explorer Search and Rescue, and Bellingham Summit to Sound Search Dogs.
