Missing Hiker Found Deceased Along Eastern Sierra Nevada

Published Oct 12, 2026 6:17 am

Inyo County SAR Image

Mono County, CA — There was an extensive search last week near Mt. Morgan within the John Muir Wilderness.

Mono County Search and Rescue (SAR), alongside partner agencies, conducted a two-day search operation for Brian Seibert, an overdue peak bagger who had attempted to summit Mt. Morgan via the North Ridge. The operation ended tragically when Seibert was found deceased following an unsurvivable fall.

The SAR team was notified this past Monday that Seibert was last heard from the previous evening (Sunday), so an incident command post was set up near Crowley Lake. A CHP helicopter out of Fresno began aerial searches along the summit ridgeline. Search teams used cell phone forensics to narrow down the search area. Ground teams, a search K9, and high-powered optics were deployed to inspect key areas.

On Tuesday, thermal imagery detected a campfire at Davis Lake. However, ground crews investigated and found out it was a separate party of three backpackers.

Seibert was located later on Tuesday, deceased, near the base of Grad Central Couloir, a steep facing east gully. It was determined that he sustained an unsurvivable fall.

Field teams prepared and secured Brian’s body, and it was recovered on Wednesday by a helicopter out of Yosemite National Park.

The Mono County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team thanks the various groups that assisted in the search, including the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office/SAR, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, CHP, California National Guard, Yosemite National Park, Friends of Yosemite Search and Rescue, and many others.