The search for a missing climber on Mount Rainier was suspended on Saturday when authorities discovered what is believe to be the body of missing Utah native Kyle Bufis.
The search was in its second day when a helicopter found the body, which matched a description of 25-year-old Bufis, near the Washington mountain's summit, according to The Associated Press.
Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman Patricia Wold said the Pierce County Medical Examiner has not yet identified the body but that it was no longer on the mountain.
Bufis was navigating the mountain with two other people on Thursday when they encountered harsh weather. Jeff Bufis, Kyle's father, spoke with The Star Tribune on Sunday about what happened leading up to the tragedy:
"The three men hunkered down in a crevasse, only to discover their cook stove had been left at another stop about 50 meters up the mountain, Jeff Bufis said, based on information gleaned from others.
'Kyle volunteered to go get it,' he added. 'That was the last time they saw him.'"
Derek Gavelis and Mathew Wiech, the two other stranded climbers, sent a text message out for help and eventually made it to a base camp safely on Friday.
The search on Saturday that led to the discovery of what is believed to be Bufis' body was conducted in two separate air operations. Authorities looked for an avalanche beacon Bufis was carrying and were dropping searchers off near areas they couldn't get good looks at, according to the AP. Overall, 39 park personnel were involved in the search, NBC news reported.
