Lynnwood man missing in avalanche on Mt. Rainier
Published 12:06 pm Wednesday, December 19, 2007
MT. RAINIER – Search teams headed out at first light this morning looking for a Lynnwood man who disappeared into a snow slide Tuesday afternoon, park officials said.
Kirk Reiser, 22, was snowshoeing with a friend Tuesday near Paradise on Mt. Rainier’s southern slopes, park spokesman Kevin Bacher said.
The pair set out to hike to Camp Muir but were turned around by heavy snow, high winds and poor visibility, Bacher said.
At about 1:30 p.m., Reiser apparently set off an avalanche and disappeared into the snow, he said.
Reiser’s hiking partner, Troy Metcalf, 23, also of Lynnwood, searched for his friend for several hours before returning to park buildings at Paradise to alert park rangers, Bacher said.
A dozen searchers and two dogs were looking for Reiser this morning. Bad weather and increasing avalanche danger were limiting the search, Bacher said.
“We will search as much as we can for any signs of Kirk and try to do as much of that as we can within the limits of the high avalanche danger,” he said.
