Hiker Dies During Solo Hike in Cascade Mountains

KITTITAS COUNTY, Wash. (AP) – Officials say a 19-year-old man fell to his death during a solo day hike in the Cascade Mountains.

Kittitas County sheriff’s officials said Tuesday that Sean Mortensen of Spokane appeared to have fallen 150 feet down a steep slope in the area of Three Queens, KOMO-TV reports .

Last week, Mortensen had hiked into the Spectacle Lake area with his brother and another friend. On Friday morning he told his brother he was going on a day hike northeast of the lake and would return in a few hours. When he didn’t return, his brother and friend began to search the area, and hiked out the next morning to the trailhead to get help.

A Navy search-and-rescue helicopter from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island was part of the search effort throughout the weekend.
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Information from: KOMO-TV, http://www.komotv.com/