The 70-year old, who has written books and newspaper articles on
hiking in and around Mount Rainier National Park, was reported
missing there by a companion hiker late on June 18 after she failed
to return from a stretch of the eight-mile Owyhigh Lakes Trail, park
official said.
The pair, who split up when they reached a portion of the route that
was covered in snow, had agreed to meet up later.
Local coroners on Monday identified Sykes and said she died of
hypothermia, though the exact circumstances and the extent of her
injuries were not immediately known, according to an official with
the Pierce County Medical Examiner's office.
National Park Service rangers on Saturday suspended the search for
Sykes after finding the body of a woman, though the body had not
been identified.
A secondary cause of death was given as heart disease, the Seattle
Times newspaper reported, citing the Pierce County Medical
Examiner's office.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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