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Missing hikers found dead on California’s Mount Whitney – WSOC TV

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Authorities found the bodies of two hikers who had been reported missing on Mount Whitney, one of the highest mountains in the United States

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A person who hiked with the couple contacted the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and said the hikers were overdue. Their companion said they had planned to ski or snowboard from a cliff known as the Notch to Upper Boy Scout Camp Lake, where they had set up camp.

On Thursday, authorities said the hikers had been found dead.

However, the couple never returned to their camp. Her companion contacted officers after waiting at their campsite for hours, officials said.

Deputies did not provide further details about the circumstances of their deaths, although Zachary Davis, a flight officer and medic with the California Highway Patrol’s Inland Divisions Air Operations, told The Sacramento Bee that searchers found two “fall victims” on the north face of the mountain on Wednesday, at an elevation of 13,200 feet. The Notch has an elevation of 14,500 feet, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office identified the couple as Andrew Niziol, 28, and Patty Bolan, 29, according to the Bee. Niziol lived in South Lake Tahoe and Bolan had recently completed her doctorate in physics at UC Davis, the newspaper reported.

According to The Bee, their deaths are the first on the mountain since October. Tom Gerbier, a French citizen, died after falling about 1,000 feet (300 meters) from the notch, the National Park Service said.

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