Climber falls to death in California national park

KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a climber has fallen to his death on a peak in Kings Canyon National Park in Central California.

The National Park Service says a 30-year-old man was found dead last Thursday on Center Peak in the Sierra Nevada park. His name hasn’t been released.

A park statement says authorities received an SOS from a satellite device that afternoon. A hiker reported someone calling for help about halfway up the peak but the hiker couldn’t reach the caller because of rough terrain and monsoon-type weather.

The park says a 37-year-old man was rescued by helicopter and it was later confirmed that his climbing partner was dead at about the 12,000-foot level of the peak. The man’s body was recovered on Friday.