Skeleton found beneath Calif.’s Mount Williamson
LOS ANGELES — The climbers were on their way to the top of California’s second-highest peak when they came upon the grisly discovery of what looked like a bone buried in a boulder field.
Closer inspection revealed a fractured human skull. Tyler Hofer and his climbing partner moved some rocks aside and discovered an entire skeleton. It appeared to have been there long enough that all that remained were bones, a leather belt and a pair of leather shoes.
The discovery a week ago beneath Mount Williamson unearthed a mystery: Who was the unfortunate hiker? How did he or she die? Did the person have a partner? Were they ever reported injured, dead or missing?
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Department doesn’t have any of those answers yet but retrieved the remains Wednesday in the hopes of finding the identity and what happened. There’s no evidence to suggest foul play, spokeswoman Carma Roper told The Associated Press.
“This is a huge mystery for us,” Roper said.
The body was discovered Oct. 7 near a lake in the remote rock-filled bowl between the towering peaks of Mount Tyndall and Williamson, which rises to 14,374 feet (4,381 meters).
Hofer wrote about his “pretty crazy” discovery on Facebook and posted a photo taken next to where the skeleton was found.
“Needless to say, we were a bit shocked,” Hofer wrote.
Derr, who coordinates the county’s search and rescue team, said bodies found in the mountains are typically connected with someone they know who has gone missing. Because the body was so decomposed, investigators believe it’s possibly been there for decades.