Hiker rescued near White Pass after cold, wet night at 6,500 feet

A 55-year-old man was rescued from the Goat Rocks Mountain range early Sunday morning after he and a rescue team spent the night in a winter storm.

The hiker used an emergency locator beacon to signal his location, about 15 miles south of White Pass at the 6,500-foot level, around 6 a.m. Saturday, according to a Yakima County Sheriff’s Office news release.

He also texted that he was in a snow storm, his tent was ripped due to high winds and was extremely cold, wet and needed help, the release said.

The man’s hometown was not immediately available.

Search-and-Rescue team members, including members of Central Washington Mountain Rescue, headed toward the Pacific Crest Trail. An Army helicopter from the Yakima Training Center was also dispatched, stopping at the sheriff’s office to pick up two rescue team members, the release said.

Teams from the Tacoma Mountain Rescue, King County Sheriff’s Office and Olympic Mountain Rescue arrived around 5 p.m. after the county called for assistance, the release said.

Helicopter crews were unable to reach the hiker Saturday due to poor visibility at the site, while a team of Yakima County rescuers located the man in the “Knife’s Edge” area around 6 p.m. and found him in the early stages of hypothermia.

Due to the poor visibility and snowfall, the Yakima County crew decided to spend the night with the man.

At sunrise Sunday, the weather improved and the Army helicopter crew picked up the hiker and the rescue team. The man was taken to Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center, where he was treated and released.

This story was originally published October 8, 2017 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Hiker rescued near White Pass after cold, wet night at 6,500 feet."