Calabasas Woman Found Dead on Mt. Shasta

SISKIYOU COUNTY, CA—The body of a 56-year-old Calabasas woman was found by authorities Wednesday on Mt. Shasta in Northern California after she was caught in a snowstorm during her climb down, authorities stated in a press release issued Friday.

The woman's name was being withheld pending notification of relatives.

The woman and her hiking partner, John Vajo of West Hills, planned to leave the Clear Creek trailhead on Sunday and return Wednesday, according to a press release from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department.

The hikers became lost Tuesday afternoon when they were caught in a snowstorm with high winds and poor visibility, the release said.

As darkness fell, they took shelter in a tree well, Vajo said, according to sheriff's deputies. The woman reportedly complained of blurred vision, exhaustion and disorientation. She stopped breathing at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Vajo told deputies.

At dawn, Vajo reportedly hiked 4 1/2 miles to his vehicle and drove until he located road workers on Pilgrim Creek Road and borrowed one of their cellphones to alert authorities.

After an extensive ground search, the Sheriff's Department's Search and Rescue team, along with members of the U.S. Forest Service, the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the city of Weed Fire Department, found the woman's body, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter assisted in removing and transporting the woman's body from the mountain, the press release said.

An autopsy is pending to determine the cause of the death.

This is an ongoing story. We will bring you new details as they develop.