Hikers identified following fatal accidents in Alaska and California

Two separate hiking fatalities have been reported in North America following recent search and rescue operations in remote terrain.

In Alaska, 22-year-old Ben Le was found dead at the bottom of a cliff in a gully after vanishing during a morning hike in Port Armstrong on August 10. Alaska State Troopers confirmed his identity on August 13. Search efforts involved the Sitka Fire Department Search and Rescue and a National Guard helicopter. The cause of death remains unknown.

In the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, Vikram Mubayi, a chemical engineering doctoral candidate at UC Santa Barbara, was identified as the hiker found deceased in the Inyo National Forest. Mubayi was reported missing on August 2 and located on August 3 near Sam Mack Meadow via a helicopter and satellite communication device. Authorities stated his injuries were “consistent with a fall from the cliff” during a trek involving difficult off-trail travel.