Search suspended for missing Mount Hood climbers

UPDATE • Sheriff calls off five-day search; now a ‘recovery effort’

Pamplin Media Group, Dec 15, 2009, Updated Dec 16, 2009 (29 Reader comments)

Members of the 304th Rescue Squadron (top) helped search Tuesday for missing climbers Katie Nolan, below center, and Anthony Vietti. The body of Luke Gullberg, below left, was found Saturday morning.

Sgt. Eric Rutherford / Oregon Military Dept.

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Clackamas County sheriff’s search for two missing climbers on Mount Hood has been changed to a recovery mission.

County Sheriff Craig Roberts said Wednesday afternoon that there was little hope that Katie Nolan of Portland and Anthony Vietti of Longview, Wash., were still alive on the mountain, five days after their failed to return from a climb.

Roberts said it was a difficult decision, but “that’s where we’re at today.”

“My condolences go out to all the family and friends of Luke Gullberg, Katie Nolan and Anthony Vietti,” he said. “One of the most difficult decisions I have to make as sheriff is the decision to suspend search operations.”

The change means search and rescue crews have suspended their daily search for the pair, Roberts said.

During the search, teams from the Hood River Crag Rats climbed to the 9,000-foot level to look for clues to what happened to Nolan and Vietti.

Helicopters from the Oregon Air National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard also joined volunteers from the Oregon Civil Air Patrol early in the week to search Mount Hood from the air.

The aircraft took high-resolution photographs of the area where the climbers were last thought to be, giving searchers a clue on where to look.

Camera provides some clues

The five-day search for 29-year-old Nolan and 24-year-old Vietti did not turn up anything that could lead rescuers to the missing pair.

Nolan, Vietti and Luke T. Gullberg of Des Moines, Wash., left Timberline Lodge at about 1 a.m. Friday to climb Mount Hood. They were expected back at the lodge about 13 hours later, but never showed up.

The body of Gullberg, 26, was found Saturday morning in the Reid Glacier area.

Clackamas County sheriff’s search and rescue coordinators were told Friday night the climbers left Timberline Lodge early in the morning and were due to return by about 2 p.m. When they didn’t show up, friends and family called for help.

The three were experienced climbers and were well equipped for the summit on Mount Hood. They apparently completed the climbing register at the lodge prior to leaving at about 1 a.m.

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