Missing Hiker Ling Dao Found Dead On Slope Of Mt. Whitney

INYO COUNTY (CBS13) - The body of a missing hiker missing for five days in Inyo County was found Tuesday on the north slope of Mt. Whitney.

Ling Dao, a Virginia native, flew to Las Vegas on Tuesday, June 11, rented a car and planned to summit Mt. Whitney the following day. He was then planning to drive back to Las Vegas and catch a red-eye flight back home to work on Thursday, according to a statement from the National Parks Service and the Inyo County Sheriff's Office.

But on Thursday, he didn't show up to work.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' staff were asked to help search for Dao on Sunday. On Monday, search efforts were halted due to bad weather. Then on Tuesday, staff were told where Dao was last seen; aircraft searched that area and located and recovered Dao's body.

The area where Dao was found is considered high mountain terrain with instability, ice, at this time of the year, and rock slide areas.

Dao's exact cause of death is under investigation.