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Second hiker found dead on trail in Skagit County

Second hiker found dead on trail in Skagit County

Sauk Mountain in in Skagit County Photo: Saga Communications/Dave Walker


ROCKPORT, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A second hiker’s body has been recovered from a Skagit County mountain trail.

The sheriff’s office says that search and rescue crews were alerted to a hiker that fell off a switchback on the Sauk Mountain Trail Saturday afternoon, Sept. 19.

The man, identified as 66-year-old Gary Idleburg of Olympia, fell approximately 800 to 1,000 feet off the trail.

Emergency crews pronounced him dead at the scene, and his body was recovered by a helicopter later that evening.

My Bellingham Now previously reported another hiker, 78-year-old Peter Kalapaca, was found dead in a steep area off of the same trail on Friday, Sept. 18.

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