On Sunday, April 8th, Seattle resident Joseph Crawford, 28, died in a fall as he was traversing rough terrain while on a fishing trip in the park and in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Crawford and a companion had been backcountry camping in the park and were attempting to hike cross-country between two lakes. The pair encountered difficult terrain and were trying to negotiate a cliffy area above a sheer vertical wall when Crawford fell several hundred feet to his death. His companion hiked out the same day and called authorities. Difficult weather and terrain hampered ground searchers and poor visibility prohibited an aerial search until Tuesday afternoon, when Crawford’s body was located. He was found in a narrow gully that bisected a 600-foot cliff face just outside the park boundary. The recovery was a joint effort by the Whatcom and Skagit County Sheriff Offices, volunteer Mountain Rescue Association units and National Park Service rangers. Recovery efforts involved flying teams of rescuers to the base of a cross-country route, helicopter insertion of gear for the technical raise of Crawford’s body out of the gully, and the eventual short-haul of his remains from the top of the cliff.
