The body of a missing skier who is believed to have fallen 200 feet (about 61 meters) in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state has been found, park officials said Tuesday.
The National Park Service (NPS) said the female skier, whose name has not been released, was last heard from on May 18 before setting off on a ski tour above Paradise. The next day, she was reported to be behind schedule.
The search included two ground rangers who searched the Nisqually watershed for footprints in Dead Horse Creek Basin, Panorama Face and Alta Vista, and two mountaineering rangers who searched overlooks of Nisqually and Paradise Glacier, from Muir Snowfield to Pebble Creek and Panorama Point, and two volunteers who searched the Nisqually watershed.
While searchers were unable to find the missing skier, a park helicopter crew spotted an unconscious person at the base of Moraine Falls in Pebble Creek above Paradise, authorities said, who appeared to have fallen about 200 feet to the base of the falls.
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The skier’s body was found at the base of Moraine Falls in Pebble Creek, upstream from Paradise. (Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images, File)
Rangers were unable to immediately retrieve the body due to the danger in the area.
The skier had set off on a ski tour above Paradise on May 18 and was reported delayed the next day. (Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images, File)
“The area was surrounded by a large, unstable snow trench and was at risk of rockfall and ice collapse, posing an immediate and significant hazard to rescue teams,” the National Park Service said.
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Rangers were forced to wait for the weather to improve again before using traditional crevasse rescue methods to recover the body on Saturday.
Rangers and volunteers searched the Nisqually Drainage for footprints but were unable to find the skier. (Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images, File)
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The body was airlifted to Kautz Creek Helibase, where it will be examined by the Pierce County Medical Examiner.
