A 78-year-old hiker died on Sauk Mountain after he was reported missing on Thursday, according to the Skagit County sheriff's office.
Peter Kalapaca, of Edmonds, was last seen shortly after noon Thursday, near the top of the Sauk Mountain trail, a popular ascent off Highway 20, near Rockport.
Rescuers shut down the trail to search the steep terrain, overlooking the Sauk and Skagit river valleys, with ground teams, helicopters and police dogs before finding Kalapaca on Friday evening, the sheriff's office reported.
He was found, deceased, in an inaccessible area and his body was recovered by helicopter, the sheriff's office said.
Kalapaca's family declined an interview Saturday.
The steep, switchbacking trail up 5,500-foot Sauk Mountain gains 1,200 feet of elevation in just over 2 miles. It has been the site of at least three other deaths in the past decade.
There have been multiple search and rescue missions here," warns the Washington Trails Association. "Please be careful when hiking, and do not cut switchbacks.
Last September, a 63-year-old man fell and died on the trail. Previously, a woman from Birch Bay died in a fall on Sauk Mountain in July 2017, and a woman from Connecticut fatally fell in July 2018.
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