Rescuers race clock in search for hikers

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) — As a winter storm barreled toward Mount Hood, rescuers raced to find two experienced climbers missing for four days on Oregon’s highest peak.

A military Black Hawk helicopter spent Monday scanning the upper reaches of the mountain as ground teams fanned out below. But the desperate search ended for the day as darkness fell and the storm approached.

“No sign at all,” said Monty Smith, a member of the Portland Mountain Rescue team who was aboard the helicopter.

Bad weather has hampered the search for Anthony Vietti, 24, of Longview, Wash., and Katie Nolan, 29, of Portland, who have been missing since Friday.

Overnight temperatures have dipped into the teens with moderate winds and intermittent snow.

A major storm was expected to hit Monday night and bring from 10 to 12 inches of snow, forecasters said.

“Winds should be fairly mild,” said Liana Ramirez, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Portland. “We may have some strong gusts overnight, but mostly on ridges and exposed areas.”

Mountaineers found the body of fellow climber Luke T. Gullberg, 26, of Des Moines, Wash., on Saturday at the 9,000-foot level on Reid Glacier.

An autopsy showed that Gullberg survived a “long, slow” fall and was able to walk and crawl several hundred yards before dying of hypothermia, The Oregonian newspaper reported Monday on its Web site.

“He had minor trauma but nothing lethal,” Dr. Chris Young of the state medical examiner’s office told the newspaper.

Jim Strovink, spokesman for the Clackamas County sheriff’s office, told the AP he had not seen the autopsy report.

Officials were examining photos from Gullberg’s camera for possible clues about the location of his two companions.

Teri Preiss, an aunt of Vietti’s, said the photos suggested the trio had changed their route up the mountain to avoid one that looked too dangerous.