Experienced climber dies after falling several hundred feet from mountain, WA cops say
A 66-year-old man’s body was found at the base of a Washington mountain after a several hundred feet fall, the sheriff’s department said.
Richard Thurmer of Mukilteo was an experienced, “well-equipped” climber in good health when he set out on Dragontail Peak near Leavenworth, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Thurmer kept in contact with his wife every day through his inReach device, deputies said.
But when his wife hadn’t heard from him for 24 hours, she contacted the authorities on Monday, March 28, deputies said. He was supposed to return home the next day.
A deputy found Thurmer’s car and left a note on it that day, but he had still not contacted his wife, deputies said.
Search and rescuers began looking for Thurmer by helicopter and by foot on Wednesday, March 30, deputies said.
The helicopter spotted a body in the snow at the base of Triple Couloirs, north of Dragontail Peak, around 11:15 a.m., deputies said, though the helicopter could not land because of strong winds.
A team of search and rescuers on foot reached the body and confirmed it was Thurmer around 2:30 p.m.
Dragontail Peak is jagged, and its “thin ridge” resembles the spine of a dragon.
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Experienced climber dies after falling several hundred feet from mountain, WA cops say."
