October 13, 2016
Kootenai County, Idaho – The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office has recovered the body of the missing hunter from the Bernard Peak area.
On October 12th, in the early evening hours, the 36th Rescue Squadron helicopter from Fairchild AFB had been assisting the Sheriff’s Office with the intensive search for a missing hunter in the Bernard Peak area when they spotted a deceased body on the face of a cliff, about ½ miles from the point last seen, and several hundred feet down from a ridge.
Unfortunately, due to impending night fall and lack of resources to get to the remains, searchers were forced to wait until daybreak to recover the body.
A helicopter from Flathead County, Two-Bear Air, was requested to assist due to their specialized equipment and training. They arrived to the scene at daybreak this morning and successfully recovered the remains from the hillside. They delivered the body to a Sheriff’s marine unit at the base of the mountain along the shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille.
The remains were positively identified as the missing hunter, Edward A. Hempel, 63 years old of Post Falls, Idaho. Notifications were made to Mr. Hempel’s family this morning by Sheriff’s detectives. An autopsy will be conducted at a later time.
The Sheriff’s Office expresses our condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Hempel and offers gratitude to the dedicated searchers that aided in his recovery.