Following the recovery Friday of two bodies presumed to be those of climbers missing since January, searchers at Mount Rainier National Park scoured the mountainside on Saturday but did not locate anyone else.
The body of Mark Vucichwas discovered on the Muir Snowfield near the standard climbing route at about 8,000 feet elevation on August 6.
Park officials say on Thursday, while conducting routine resupply operations to Camp Muir by helicopter, a body was spotted hanging over the edge of a large crevasse on the Paradise Glacier southeast of Anvil Rock. In addition, camping and climbing gear could be seen strewn across the bottom of the crevasse.
The body was partially buried under about 5 feet of snow and clearly had been in place for some time. The site is about a quarter mile east of the standard climbing route and on the other side of a ridge, at about 8,200-foot elevation.
On Friday, climbing rangers retrieved the body of a woman from the crevasse. A man's body was then recovered from under the snow nearby.
Park officials say it's likely that the two individuals recovered Friday are, like Vucich, members of the group of four that disappeared in January. Their identities will be confirmed by the Medical Examiner. The three remaining missing climbers are Michelle Trojanowski, Sork Yang, and SeolHee Jin.
Both individuals were transported by ambulance to the Pierce County Medical Examiner, who will determine their identities and causes of death.
Four climbers were lost in this vicinity during January storms. On August 6, the body of Mark Vucich was found near the climbing route on the Muir Snowfield, about half a mile above Pebble Creek at about 8,000 feet elevation. The bodies recovered Friday are likely members of the same group of climbers.
Rangers will return to the site, both on foot and by helicopter, to further investigate what appears to be a large campsite buried under the snow on the edge of the crevasse, in hopes of finding clues to explain what happened and, ultimately, lead to the fourth missing climber.
