Authorities were working to recover the body of someone who died after falling on Mount Hood in Oregon on Tuesday.
The person was found at Illumination Saddle, 9,400 feet up the mountain, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. It’s unclear who the person is or why they were there, but the sheriff’s office did note that the person was wearing ski boots.
The sheriff’s office initially said it was looking at the incident as a rescue mission after a call came in just after noon local time reporting that a climber with Portland Mountain Rescue had found someone on the mountain.
“The mission has become a recovery mission,” the sheriff’s office said on Twitter about an hour later. “Subject found at 9,400 feet in Illumination Saddle area is deceased.”
An Oregon National Guard helicopter was recalled after authorities weighed the risk and benefits, according to the sheriff’s office. Recovery teams from Portland Mountain Rescue were instead sent to the site.
Mount Hood, the highest mountain in Oregon, at 11,239 feet, is one of the most-climbed mountains in the world, the sheriff’s office said.
A teenager recently survived a 500-foot fall on Mount Hood in December. The 16-year-old climber suffered a leg injury after falling from the Pearly Gates area of the mountain to a section known as Devil’s Kitchen.
