Photo: George D. Lepp / Corbis Documentary / Getty Images
Authorities in California have recovered the bodies of two hikers reported missing on Mount Whitney. The Inyo County Sheriff's Office got a call about two overdue hikers around 8:30 p.m. on May 7, according to a Thursday (May 9) news release.
Deputies said the victims planned to descend from the "Notch" area of Mount Whitney's Mountaineer Route down to the Upper Boy Scout Lake where they set up camp. Officials believe they were going to do so by skiing or snowboarding.
Someone who was hiking with the missing hikers told dispatchers they waited several hours for them to return to their campsite. They called authorities when the hikers failed to show up.
Inyo County Search & Rescue deployed a helicopter and foot teams to search the area.
"Tragically, both hikers were later discovered deceased. Due to the location of the discovery being within Tulare County, the case is being handled by the Tulare County Sheriff-Coroner's Office," officials wrote in the news release.
The Tulare County Sheriff's Office identified the victims as 29-year-old Patricia Bolan of Davis and 28-year-old Andrew Niziol of South Lake Tahoe, per CBS News.
Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states and the most frequently climbed mountain peak in the Sierra Nevada, according to the National Park Service.