A man who had been hiking in the Enchantments region of Washington State was found dead last week after an apparent fall, the authorities said.
The man, Andrew Wong, 37, of Long Island, N.Y., was scheduled to return home from his hike near Dragontail Peak, a rugged region of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, on Sept. 7, but never arrived, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Monday. On Sept. 9, the authorities received a report that Mr. Wong had not returned home.
Deputies found his car near a local trailhead, and the volunteer group Chelan County Mountain Rescue began a search. Because of “challenging terrain,” the team employed a hoist-capable helicopter from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office to assist in its efforts.
After an extensive search of a “hazardous” area in the Dragontail Peak region, which is about 150 miles east of Seattle, the authorities found Mr. Wong’s body. His injuries were consistent with a fall, the sheriff’s office said.
The peak, an 8,840-foot summit, is a popular destination for hikers and is known for its jagged, sharp terrain. It is part of the Enchantments region, a popular hiking area in the Cascade Mountain Range that draws more than 100,000 visitors a year to its picturesque mountains and crystal blue lakes.
In August, a 30-year-old man died in one of the region’s 700 alpine lakes. The man, who was from North Carolina, drowned in Colchuck Lake, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Local officials have warned that staffing shortages, resulting in part from wider Trump administration cuts to parks services nationwide, could lead to unsafe conditions for visitors.
Hannah Ziegler is a general assignment reporter for The Times, covering topics such as crime, business, weather, pop culture and online trends.
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