St. Helens man dies in 1,200-foot fall during one-day climb of North and Middle Sister

(Update: Adding location, earlier fall victim's body still not recovered)

Army Guard helicopter locates man, but SAR unit unable to recover him

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) – An Army National Guard helicopter crew located the remains of a 66-year-old St. Helens man who was reported overdue while on an intended one-day climb of the North and Middle Sister last week and was killed in a 1,200-foot fall, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

The sheriff’s office responded last Friday to a report of an overdue hiker, Sgt. Jason Wall said Tuesday.

An initial investigation determined that John David Mulcahy left the Pole Creek Trailhead on the morning of Tuesday, August 15 to summit the North Sister and the Middle Sister in one day, with plans to return to the trailhead that evening, Wall said.

 Family members had not heard from Mulcahy and contacted the sheriff’s office to report him overdue.

AirLink was contacted and agreed to fly a helicopter crew over the area Friday afternoon, but did not locate Mulcahy.

On Saturday, the Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue unit sent a mountain rescue team up to the area, the sergeant said.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Army National Guard sent a helicopter crew who flew over the area and found a deceased subject believed to be Mulcahy around 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

Wall confirmed Wednesday that the location where he was found was the eastern slope of the North Sister, southeast of the 10,085-foot peak.

Due to the location, Wall said, the sheriff’s SAR unit “was unable to recover him.”

Last month, Joel Tranby, 21, of Bend, fell several hundred feet to his death while climbing North Sister.

Lane County sheriff's Sgt. Tom Speldrich said Wednesday that "there are not plans to recover his body at this time, due to the dangerous conditions that would be imminent."