Hiker Found Dead After Summiting 13,000-Foot Mount Morgan

INYO COUNTY, CA — A hiker was recently found dead after he summited the peak of Mount Morgan in Inyo National Forest, according to authorities.

Brian Seibert was found dead Oct. 6, authorities said.

The Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue Team was notified around 11:30 a.m. Oct. 5 about an overdue hiker last heard from the previous night around 7 p.m. Rescuers, including a helicopter and K-9, searched Monday, confirming Seibert reached the over-13,000-foot summit and learning from cellphone forensics that he may have started his descent via the North Ridge.

The following day, the search encompassed almost every aspect of the mountain, according to the rescue team. A California National Guard helicopter spotted an anomaly just after 2 p.m. near the bottom of Grand Central Couloir, which was confirmed to be Seibert, who had suffered an unsurvivable fall from a cliff band.

Rescuers could not safely recover Seibert on Oct. 6, with the team, in a social media post, citing “the extremely challenging nature of the terrain between Brian’s location and the nearest landing zone,” so he was recovered early Wednesday by a Yosemite National Park helicopter and crew from Friends of Yosemite Search and Rescue.

The operation involved over 300 volunteer hours.

Seibert’s loved ones remembered him in the comments of the rescue team’s social media post, with his ex-wife writing that “his boys and I are so sad” and describing the situation as “heartbreaking.”