The Hood Country Sheriff has called off the search for the remaining two missing climbers.

Sheriff Joe Wampler said, “The chance of survival is pretty nil. I don’t think I can justify putting any more people in the field with the hope of finding them alive.”

Wampler had received a tip from a snow-shoer who thought they spotted a yellow tent. Wampler flew a plane up to the mountain top to check the report. The tent turned out to be a rock.

Operations will now turn to recovery of the bodies. Planes will still search for the bodies of the missing men, but typically bodies aren’t found until spring.

Not much is known about what happened on the mountain. Evidence suggests that Kelly James, the climber found dead in an ice cave, might have been injured and the other two climbers might have gone for help. The other climbers might have fallen or have been buried by an avalanche.

Many of the volunteer searchers will return to their normal lives and National Guard helicopters will return to their bases.

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