Hiker Found Dead After Emergency Call in Alaska

A distress call from an out-of-state hiker near Ketchikan, Alaska, ended in tragedy, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Alaska State Troopers say 49-year-old Portland, Oregon, resident Heath Didier called 911 around 9:30pm Sunday, reporting he was lost near the Deer Mountain Trail, cold, and lacking food, water, and proper gear. Dispatchers communicated with him for about an hour using the Prepared Live emergency platform before contact ended. Authorities believe his phone battery died.

Didier was carrying a locator beacon, but ground teams searched overnight without success. On Monday morning, a rescue helicopter spotted a man believed to be Didier at the base of a cliff, partially in water, roughly a quarter-mile from his last known location and about 400 yards south of a key trail junction. Authorities believe he fell, Alaska Public Media reports. Conditions prevented crews from recovering the body Monday; the Juneau Empire reports his body was recovered Tuesday.