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SALT LAKE CITY — The search for a Utah hiker reported missing on Mount Rainier in Washington state was suspended Saturday after rescuers said they found a body matching his description.
Kyle Bufis, 25, and two friends reached Rainier's summit on Thursday and were descending the 14,000-foot mountain that same day when bad weather set in.
"During the descent they ran into some unfavorable weather. It was very, very windy up there. They were hiking basically in a cloud. They had very low visibility," said Patti Wold, a park ranger and public information officer at Mount Rainier National Park.
After hiking a while in dense fog, the other two climbers, Derek Gavelis and Mathew Wiech, realized Bufis was no longer with them.
They "descended to Camp Schurman of their own accord late the next day," Wold said in a written statement, adding they were in good health.
According to Bufis' father, the three friends had trained together to climb Mt. Rainier. He also told reporters in Minnesota — Bufis' home state — his son was a mountain climbing instructor, a first-aid responder trained in wilderness first-aid, and led backpacking trips for others.
Bufis was most recently living in Springdale, Utah, his father said. According to Bufis' Facebook page, the 25-year-old worked for Expedition Therapy in St. George.
Rescuers were working Saturday to bring the body off the mountain. While the body matches Bufis' description, Wold stressed that confirmation of the identity rests with the Pierce County Medical Examiner.
