THREE bodies were found in Glacier National Park this week with rangers now investigating what led up to the tragedies.
A group of campers described hearing cries for help before one body was found at the bottom of a steep off-trail slope on Monday.
A 79-year-old Florida man was attempting to ascend the slope while hiking with friends when he fell to his death.
The incident occurred several hundred feet above the Two Medicine Campground on Rising Wolf Mountain, the National Park Service said in a statement.
The man’s friends descended to his location, where they yelled for help and called 911.
Glacier County then diverted the call to Glacier National Park staff who heard nearby campers shouting for help.
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Two Bear Air units diverted from a separate incident to transport the unconscious man to Two Medicine Ranger Station, where first responders were standing by.
The man was tragically declared dead by ALERT personnel and his identity has not yet been released.
On the same day, Nation Park staff recovered the bodies of two men from the Montana park.
Brian McKenzie Kennedy, 67, and Jack Dewayne Beard, also 67, were killed in a climbing accident on Dusty Star Mountain.
Kennedy and Beard began the trip on July 21 with the plan to hike out July 22.
They were reported missing on July 24 and officials found their vehicle at the trailhead.
Kennedy and Beard were considered expert climbers and have been summitting mountain peaks in Glacier for decades, according to park staff who knew the men personally.
Park officials began an air search in the Dusty Star Mountain area on the east side route of approach the day they were reported missing.
Two Bear Air flew in daylight and darkness searching for the two seasoned climbers.
Minuteman Aviation took over the air search and located the bodies on the morning of July 25.
Two Bear Air recovered the bodies later that day.
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“As long-time members, both men contributed greatly to the Glacier Mountaineering Society and were well-known in the Flathead Valley community,” the National Park Service wrote.
“Park staff would like to express their deepest condolences to the family.”
