(KRON) — Carlos Romero, a mountaineering guide from Livermore, is one of three climbers presumed dead after a fall on New Zealand’s Aoraki Mount Cook. The group, which included a climber from Colorado and another from Canada, had been missing since Monday.
New Zealand police confirmed the deaths Thursday after search teams found climbing gear, footprints, and other evidence beneath Zurbriggen Ridge.
“It’s now five days since the trio was reported overdue,” said Aoraki Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker. “After reviewing the number of days the climbers have been missing, no communication, the items we have retrieved, and our reconnaissance today, we do not believe the men have survived. We believe they have taken a fall. This is certainly not the news we wanted to share today. Our thoughts are with the families.”
Romero, a guide with SWS Mountain Guides in Mount Shasta, was climbing with his friend Kurt Blair from Colorado and a third climber who has not been identified. The men began their climb on Saturday but didn’t return for their scheduled pickup on Monday.
Search efforts were delayed for days due to poor weather. Items believed to belong to the men were later found on the mountain, including a jacket, ice axe, top, and energy gels.
Police have suspended the search but remain open to new information.
