Body of 3rd climber killed in Washington state avalanche has been recovered

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — The body of the third and final climber killed last winter in an avalanche on Washington’s Colchuck Peak has been recovered, officials said.

A hiker on Thursday found the body of Yun Park, a 66-year-old man from Palisades Park, New Jersey, and reported it to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office. A helicopter rescue team recovered the body Friday.

Park and two other climbers were killed Feb. 19 as they ascended a steep, snow-packed gulley on the 8,705-foot (2,653-meter) Colchuck Peak, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) east of Seattle, amid risky avalanche conditions. A fourth member of the party suffered only minor injuries when caught up in the avalanche and was able to hike down.

One of the victims, Seong Cho, 54, a Korean citizen residing in West Hartford, Connecticut, was located days later. The body of of 60-year-old Jeannie Lee, of Bayside, New York, was recovered in late May.

The three were part of a New York-based climbing club, officials said at the time of the avalanche.