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> One person hiker on Mt Hood
Southsider2k12
post Dec 18 2006, 12:45 PM
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http://www.post-trib.com/news/176330,BodyFound.article

QUOTE
One body found on Mt. Hood

December 18, 2006
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER Associated Press Writer
Rescuers looking for three missing climbers on Mount Hood found a body Sunday in the area where one of the climbers made a distress call a week ago, authorities said.

The dead climber had not yet been identified, said Pete Hughes, a spokesman for the Hood River County Sheriff's Office. The victim was believed to be one of the three missing climbers, authorities said. The Hood River County Sheriff's Office said the body may be airlifted off the mountain today or taken down by sled, depending on which is safer.

ยป Click to enlarge image

Brian Hall and Kelly James: In this photo made available by family friend and media facilitator Jessica Nunez, Brian Hall, left, and Kelly James embrace each other on Feb. 2006 in Dallas. Hall and James are two of the three climbers missing on Mount Hood since Dec. 10, 2006.




(COPYRIGHT CHRISTOPHER FORD PHOTOGRAPHY)
The body was found in a second snow cave near another snow cave where rescuers found a sleeping bag, ice axes and rope, officials said.

Rescuers would be coming off the mountain early Sunday evening and will review the information gathered today before making tomorrow's plans, said Capt. Mike Braibish, spokesman for the Oregon National Guard.

"We remain hopeful," Braibish said. "We are going to still collect information and pursue the rescue of the two other climbers."

Near the first snow cave, helicopters had spotted rope that had been intentionally laid out in a Y-shape, which some rescuers said is commonly used by climbers to indicate their location. There was also an ice spike and footprints, said Sgt. Gerry Tiffany, spokesman for the Hood River County Sheriff's Office.

Searchers dug through the cave, about 300 feet below the summit, to ensure no one was there and took the equipment, which will be examined for clues.

Weather conditions have been harsh since the three were reporting missing eight days ago, with heavy snow fall and wind gusts of up to 100 mph. The snow stopped Saturday, but wind up to 50 mph blew the fresh snow, hampering visibility. Skies were blue Sunday, the wind was still, and temperatures at the 11,239-foot summit were reported near zero degrees.

There has been no communication from Kelly James, 48, of Dallas, 37-year-old Brian Hall of Dallas, or 36-year-old Jerry "Nikko" Cooke of New York City since Dec. 10, when James used his cell phone to call his family. He told them he was sheltering in a snow cave while his companions started back down the mountain, apparently to get help for him.

The last clue to their whereabouts was a brief signal returned from James' cell phone Tuesday.

It is not yet known how the body will be brought down from the mountain. "We need to determine the safest way to make a recovery," Tiffany said.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Ang
post Dec 18 2006, 02:59 PM
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The news here in Wyoming said the body found was that of the oldest guy in the group. I can't remember his name, I just know he was the oldest and the most experienced of the trio. Very very sad.


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Ang
post Dec 19 2006, 10:00 AM
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I don't know if you all heard or not, but they brought the body of that hiker down the mountain this morning. They still haven't located the other two and the weather has been pretty rough. The winds are very fierce and they're afraid the helicopters could cause avalanches if not crash because of the wind. At least that is what the news is saying out here in Wyoming. If I hear anything more, I'll let you all know.


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Ang
post Dec 20 2006, 04:45 PM
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This is very sad...

HOOD RIVER, Ore. - With yet another snowstorm barreling in, rescue teams gave up any hope of finding two missing climbers alive on wind-whipped Mount Hood and abandoned the search Wednesday after nine frustrating days.

"We've done everything we can at this point," said Sheriff Joe Wampler, choking back tears after returning from one last, fruitless flyover of the 11,239-foot peak.

As the weather permits, officials will now look for the bodies of Brian Hall and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, he said.

Wampler said the men's families made the decision to end the search.

"It was pretty much their conclusion. The chance of survival is pretty nil. I don't think I can justify putting any more people in the field with the hope of finding them alive," the sheriff said.

The men's families had no immediate comment.

Three climbers in all were reported missing in the snow on Mount Hood on Dec. 11. One of them, 48-year-old Dallas landscape architect Kelly James, was found dead in a snow cave on Sunday. Volunteers continued scouring the mountains for signs of James' climbing partners, Hall, a 37-year-old personal trainer from Dallas, and Cooke, a 36-year-old lawyer from New York City. But climbing gear found on the peak suggested the two may have been swept to their deaths over a precipice or buried in an avalanche.

The sheriff's announcement ended a dramatic and heartbreaking search that began Dec. 11 on the rocky, snow-covered flanks of Oregon's tallest mountain and included, at its height, scores of volunteers, sheriff's deputies and National Guardsmen on foot and in helicopters and a plane.

The three men had set out Dec. 8 on what was supposed to be a two-day climb to the peak and back down. On Dec. 10, however, James called his family via cell phone to say that the party was in trouble and that his two companions had gone downhill for help. Authorities suspect James suffered a dislocated shoulder, perhaps in a fall.

After James' body was discovered, search teams held out hope that Hall and Cooke had dug a cave in the snow and were awaiting rescue, as climbers are trained to do.

In one last-ditch effort, the sheriff piloted a Piper Cub over the mountain Wednesday, looking into a report by snowshoers of a yellow tent in a snow field. He said it turned out to be a rock.

"Right now things are moving in from the west," he said of the snowstorm. "That window has shut on us."

Even before the sheriff spoke, the search had been scaled back dramatically. All of the volunteers had packed up and returned to their regular jobs, and helicopters used in the search had gone back to their bases.

"I feel good about what I did. I wanted to do what I could for the family," Wampler said. "You start something you want to finish it."





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