King County Search and Rescue has located the body of a man believed to be missing hiker Kumar Rao, a Microsoft employee and amateur photographer.
Rao, 56, was last seen on Sunday near Keekwulee Falls on the Denny Creek trail, a hiking area near Snoqualmie Pass that is around 50 miles east of Seattle. Rao was carrying a camera and tripod with him at the time. His family expected Rao back around noon and called 911 on Sunday afternoon when he did not return.
Search and rescue volunteers from King County began looking for Rao on Sunday afternoon and continued into early Monday morning. The 60-person team resumed searching the next morning and continued until the body was discovered at 9 p.m.
The King County Sheriff’s Office, which confirmed that Rao was a Microsoft employee, said that a man matching Rao’s description was found dead six miles into the trail. Rescuers were in the process of bringing the body down from Granite Mountain on Tuesday afternoon.
Tragic #update to the 56-year-old missing hiker, Kumar Rao. @KCSAR has located a deceased male believed to be Rao. More information will be provided Tuesday afternoon. https://t.co/2VuCkK8Hfj
— King County Sheriff's Office PIO (@kingcosoPIO) July 2, 2019
The sheriff’s office said that no foul play is suspected. The medical examiner’s office will provide the official cause of death and identity of the body.
Updated July 2 at 4 p.m. with additional details from the sheriff’s department.
