Father: Missing Mount Rainier climber went to get cook stove

A U.S. Army Reserve helicopter was used in the search for a missing climber on Mount Rainier. (Associated Press)

CLIMBING -- The father of a missing climber apparently found dead on Mount Rainier says his son had a passion for climbing and the outdoors, the Associated Press reports.

Searchers Saturday recovered a body believed to be that of 25-year-old Kyle Bufis, formerly of Maple Grove, Minn.

A spokeswoman for Mount Rainier National Park says the body matches the description of Bufis, but that a medical examiner will need to confirm the identity.

Bufis, who lived in Springdale, Utah, was part of a three-climber team when he went missing during extreme weather near Liberty Saddle on Thursday night.

Bufis’ father, Jeff Bufis, tells the Star Tribune his son volunteered to retrieve a cook stove the men had left about 50 meters up the mountain. He says that was the last the others saw of his son.

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