49-year-old California man collapses, dies while hiking on Mount Shasta, police say

A 49-year-old man collapsed and died last week while hiking Mount Shasta, according to local authorities.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said in a release it received a Garmin InReach emergency notification just before 7 p.m. on May 17 at 9,500 feet of elevation up Avalanche Gulch. The climber, later identified as 49-year-old David Lopez of Campbell, California, had collapsed and become unresponsive while nearing Lake Helen with his climbing partner.

Mount Shasta is a volcanic mountain located in Northern California, and measures at 14,179 feet. The mountain is about 14 miles away from Mount Shasta, the nearby city bearing the same name.

After getting the distress call, the sheriff's search and rescue coordinator notified the Forest Service Climbing Rangers, as well as the California Highway Patrol’s Air Operations to rescue the man, but hoist operations were not possible due to the onset of darkness.

Lopez's climbing partner immediately began CPR when he collapsed, and continued until he was relieved by emergency responders. Lopez was not able to be resuscitated and was transported down to Bunny Flats by Forest Service Climbing Rangers and the sheriff's office search and rescue team.

A sheriff's deputy met rescuers at the trailhead, where he was pronounced dead at 10:49 p.m.

The cause and manner of death are pending an autopsy, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said.