Search Underway For Overdue Mountaineer

North Cascades National Park (WA)
Search Underway For Overdue Mountaineer

A search is underway in the area of Storm King Mountain for a 49-year old resident of the Seattle area who was reported missing on Monday, August 30th. The experienced mountaineer was planning to solo climb Storm King Mountain on Saturday, August 28th. Late Wednesday afternoon, a backpack was found by a ground search team at the 7400-foot elevation level directly below Storm King’s 8500-foot summit. The backpack was on the route to the summit, and it is believed that the pack was purposely placed at this location. National Park Service rangers were able to confirm the gear belongs to the missing climber. Rangers confirmed that a tent and other gear found on Monday belong to the missing climber, who had been issued a backcountry permit to stay at that location on Friday, August 27th. The designated camp site is along the Park Creek Trail en route to a Storm King climbing route. Ground searches on Tuesday and Wednesday covered a 1500-acre search area. The terrain where the searches are being conducted is steep and difficult. Fifty personnel from the National Park Service, Chelan Mountain Rescue, Stehekin Community and the King County Sheriff’s Office are now searching for the missing climber. They were aided yesterday by four helicopters, including two with forward looking infrared (FLIR). FLIR is an imaging technology that detects thermal energy and can help find missing persons if they are in areas that cannot be seen.