The body of Kate Huether, 24, of Portland was recovered late Sunday afternoon off the side of Table Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge, four miles north of Bonneville Dam.
A Portland State University student, Huether took off hiking on March 4.
A local man and his son, who had been riding their four-wheelers, discovered the body on Saturday afternoon at the base of a 800-foot cliff.
On Sunday, Skamania County Undersheriff Dave Cox said a helicopter from the King County Sheriff’s Office placed Skamania deputies in an area about an eighth of a mile east of Huether’s body. However, winds and terrain in the area prevented the helicopter from establishing a stable platform for a hoist operation.
The four deputies arrived at Huether’s body about 3:15 p.m. Sunday and began the traverse back to the pickup point about 25 minutes later. They arrived at the pickup point about 4:35 p.m. and the deputies and Huether were loaded onto the helicopter.
Huether’s body was transported to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office in Vancouver.
An autopsy will be conducted.
Cox said more than 200 persons helped in the effort to find Huether.
“I tell you, everybody was so awesome. We are so fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest with those kind of resources,” he said.
Asked what he believed happened, Cox said, there are spur trails to vistas in the area.
“We just don’t know what transpired when she fell,” he said. “Snow has covered everything up there.”
On March 4, Huether texted a friend that she was taking a walk.
A clue came March 7 when a credit-card receipt bearing Huether’s name was found near Table Mountain.
Rescue teams put in four grueling days of large-scale searches. On Tuesday, a sheriff’s dive team searched a small lake.
After Wednesday’s search — which included 46 people on foot, two rescue dogs, two horse teams and the helicopter — officials said they were suspending such searches until new leads emerged.
