Mount Hood searchers give up

Story Highlights

• Autopsy says one climber died of hypothermia
• Sheriff acknowledges there's little hope of finding two other climbers alive
• Family, friends take "farewell flight" over mountain
• Another storm, packing freezing rain, moving into area

Adjust font size:

HOOD RIVER, Oregon (CNN) -- The effort to save two climbers still missing on Oregon's Mount Hood ended Wednesday, the search leaders glumly acknowledging that the mountain and the weather were too much to overcome.

"Incidents on the mountain are very unforgiving," said Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler, one of the chief coordinators of the search. "This time of year, Mount Hood is a dangerous place to be, based on the weather conditions."

"Right now we're going to let everyone go home for Christmas," he added. (Watch Wampler explain why the search was ending )

The missing men, Brian Hall, 37, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, 36, started up the 11,293-foot mountain December 8 with a third man, Kelly James, 48, whose body was found in a snow cave on Sunday.

An autopsy performed Wednesday on James' body showed that he died of hypothermia resulting from exposure to cold, according to the Oregon State Medical Examiner's office. Dehydration may also have played a role, the office reported.

"There were no disabling injuries" to James found in the autopsy or by X-ray, the medical examiner's statement said. Authorities have said they believed James may have dislocated his shoulder; it was unclear whether that would have been considered a "disabling injury."

By the time James' body was found Sunday, he had been dead for several days, the medical examiner said.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Mount Hood and Hood River Valley until 2 a.m. Thursday, predicting mostly freezing rain around 6,000 feet and below, several feet of snow above that, high winds and low visibility. (Watch weather update )

Heavy snowfall, 100-mph winds and extreme cold thwarted searchers for several days after the men were reported missing during a snowstorm on December 11.

"I know that these guys have put in 110 percent to find these climbers," said Deputy Sheriff Chris Guertin, who led the teams on the mountain. "They gave it everything they had."

"I do feel that we did an excellent job with the resources we had and the information we had."

Guertin said that while there was no longer any realistic hope of finding Hall and Cooke alive, he and his team would continue to watch the mountain for evidence.

"We're going to be looking for any little clues we can find," Guertin said.

Earlier in the day, Wampler had made one last search flight over the mountain in a Piper Cub, but bad weather forced him to return. He said the men's family members had been gracious and cooperative, and most realized the weather was too rough and agreed with the decision to call off the search.

"They understand, they know," Wampler said. "These people are all outdoorsmen, so they know. ...

"They weren't all ready to do this," he added, "but that's where we have to be the responsible ones for everyone else, and that's what we did."

"Bottom line was they didn't want us putting any more people in harm's way," Wampler said.

The Associated Press reported that a few friends and family members of the missing climbers had taken a "farewell flight" over the mountain Wednesday.

Although he said the climbers "did everything right," Wampler cautioned those planning to scale a mountain -- or even to drive through a remote area -- to plan well.

"Time of year has a lot to do with that," he said. "Never, ever, go anywhere and just plan on going someplace and not be prepared to spend some time out there, because you might get caught and you might have to stay there."

CNN's Dan Simon, Sumi Das and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.

Tools:
Save |
Print |
E-mail |
Most Popular |

Next story in U.S.

U.S.

What are E-mail Alerts? | Manage Alerts | Create Your Own

Gustav grows stronger on approach to Cuba

Gustav's top winds increased to 110 mph (155 kph) as it approaches the western tip of Cuba Saturday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in M ...