Fatality on Thunder Mountain, Alaska

WCCO reports Nick Masciopinto of Minneapolis fell while descending Thunder Mountain near Juneau, Alaska.

He was located at about 1,100 feet from the top of the 2,800-foot peak. Teams couldn’t reach Masciopinto that evening because of the difficult terrain and encroaching darkness. The hiker called his family at 7 p.m., saying he would be late. At 8:15 he called to say he had lost the trail and was almost a third of the way down the mountain. He could see houses in the valley and would try to make it down. After that, he couldn’t be reached by his cell phone, Tracy said. That’s when troopers were called.