Authorities have recovered a body from California’s Mount Whitney as search efforts continue around the disappearance of a young hiker who went missing just days after turning 21.
Joseph Brambila had been documenting his hike on the mountain in a YouTube video filmed in November. He was last known to be on the slopes after telling others he planned to take a “short cut” on his way down, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Earlier this year, Brambila posted a separate video showing himself sliding down Mount Whitney’s snow-covered upper slopes in June using a technique called a “glissade.” The move typically requires safety gear like an ice pick and a helmet. At the time, warmer conditions reportedly allowed him to get down without incident.
When Brambila returned to Mount Whitney on Nov. 11, however, conditions were more unpredictable. Weather on the peak can shift rapidly and without warning, the Times noted. A friend, Luis Buenrostro, told the outlet he last saw Brambila at Trail Crest — the same area where Brambila filmed his June video.
After Brambila’s family didn’t hear from him, they reported him missing in the days following his birthday.
In a release issued Monday, Dec. 15, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said it received a report on Nov. 12 of what was believed to be a deceased person on Mount Whitney, which stands at 14,494 feet. Officials said the steep, remote terrain — along with multiple storms that followed — complicated the recovery and required weeks of planning.
The sheriff’s office said the body was recovered Monday after a coordinated effort involving helicopter-assisted and ground operations.
“Formal identification is pending with the Inyo County Coroner’s Office,” the sheriff’s office said. “We will release further information as it becomes available. While identification is pending, we recognize the difficulty of this situation and extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.”
Officials also urged the public not to speculate while the identification process is underway, noting that awareness of a missing-person report in the area has fueled assumptions.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said Brambila’s family was present during the recovery operation but did not view the body. The spokesperson added that while the family was informed about the clothing the deceased was wearing, “clothing alone is not considered a legal or positive means of identification.”
Brambila’s girlfriend, Darlene Molina, told SFGate that he was ambitious but careful and well-prepared, and that he had cut hikes short in the past when conditions felt unsafe — including during a previous trip in Yosemite National Park.
“He loves disconnecting from the world and spending time with himself in nature,” Molina told the outlet. “He has told his friends that he’ll turn his phone off during hikes but is always recording and talking to himself for vlogs.”
