Body of climber who fell skiing down Liberty Ridge on Mount Rainier found in crevasse

The body of a climber who went missing while skiing down the Liberty Ridge route on Mount Rainier was found Monday, according to the National Park Service.

Matthew Bunker, 28, of Seattle, disappeared Friday while descending behind his partner near 10,400-foot Thumb Rock on the north flank of the mountain.

Rangers said it’s unknown what caused Bunker to fall in steep, treacherous terrain.

A helicopter was used twice over the weekend to conduct reconnaissance missions from the air, but winds and clouds hampered the search.

On Monday, rangers in the helicopter spotted Bunker’s body in a crevasse at the base of a cliff.

That area is prone to continuous rock and ice fall and rescuers said it’s too dangerous to recover Bunker’s body

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Matt’s WP-ORG eulogy page

A link to Matt Bunker’s (USMA 2013) photography

Troops and their families based in most states across the country have been given the OK to resume regular travel, except for those in Florida and California, which continue to see troubling rises in coronavirus cases.

Ten more states have met the criteria to lift the travel restrictions the Pentagon set in place in March, defense officials announced on Monday. That allows more service members and their families to resume not only recreational travel, but also permanent change-of-station moves.

Troops based in Guam, Puerto Rico and South Korea are also allowed to travel, with approval from their local commanders.

Locations must meet a series of criteria to see earlier travel bans lifted. Those criteria include no shelter-in-place orders; a two-week downward trend in COVID-19 symptoms; and a 14-day decline in new cases.

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The U.S. Army, which has come under criticism by the family of missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen, is speaking out, addressing questions about the investigation into her disappearance more than two months ago.

The Army’s move comes days after investigators said they suspect foul play related to her disappearance and opened up a separate inquiry looking into allegations that she was sexually harassed by a supervisor.

“Where’s my sister? They know where she is and I want them to speak up and I want answers and I want them now,” Lupe Guillen, Vanessa’s sister, told NBC affiliate KCEN in Temple, Texas, during a protest Friday. “My eyes are dried out because I can’t even cry anymore.”

The Army included with its list of answered frequently asked questions about the case a message, saying: “We are very concerned for the welfare of PFC Vanessa Guillen and we fully understand the frustration felt by the family, friends and fellow Soldiers of Vanessa. We are doing everything in our power to get her back and will not stop until we do.”

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The number of active coronavirus cases among Veterans Affairs patients has doubled since the start of June, due mostly to rising numbers of infected individuals at hospitals in Texas, Florida, California and other virus hot spots across the country.

On Thursday morning, VA officials reported 2,815 active cases of the fast-spreading virus across 132 medical facilities. That’s up more than 60 percent in the last week alone and twice the department’s reported active case total of 1,390 at the start of June.

The number of active cases had dropped steadily through May since peaking around 3,000 in the early part of the month. Now, nearly all of those reductions are gone.

Fifteen VA medical centers have added 20 or more new coronavirus patients in the last 10 days, according to department statistics. The VA hospital in San Antonio has the most active cases with nearly 200, more than 150 of them coming in the last two weeks.

Public health officials have warned of significant coronavirus spikes in states in the south and west in recent days, with several posting their highest infection numbers since the start of the pandemic fourth months ago.

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