Overview

• Authorities launched a coordinated multi-agency search on July 9 after Harris Levinson failed to reach his planned June 29 resupply point.
• Helicopters from the California Highway Patrol and ground teams from Inyo County Search and Rescue used satellite messaging data to locate and recover his body on July 12.
• Officials determined Levinson had attempted the technical Mount Whitney climber’s route, where steep drop-offs led to his 100-foot fall two miles into the trek.
• The 61-year-old Vashon High School teacher set out June 23 from Whitney Portal on a months-long solo hike along the nearly 140-mile John Muir Trail.
• Former students, colleagues and friends have shared online tributes celebrating his warmth, creativity and impact as an American studies and theater educator.