Ian Cox, 29, disappeared after a solo climb of West McMillan Spire in North Cascades National Park on August 20, 2022. An experienced mountaineer, Eagle Scout and instructor with the Mountaineers, he failed to make a scheduled check-in after a day-long trek north of Diablo Lake. His family reported him missing and multiple search-and-rescue teams, including helicopters, spent a week searching the remote, rugged terrain without finding him. His satellite beacon did not transmit a signal during the period of concern.

Reports say receding glaciers and unstable conditions at the ice-rock transition in the area were seen by those familiar with the route as a likely hazard that could result in a fall. For two years the family kept his memory alive and raised funds for volunteer search-and-rescue teams with a 22-mile Dicks-A-Thon run between Seattle’s Dick’s Drive-In locations that Ian and his twin had once completed. In the fall of 2024 the family was notified by the chief ranger that remains believed to be Ian’s were found, bringing answers after a long period of uncertainty.

If anyone has information about Ian’s plans on August 20, 2022, or observations in the West McMillan Spire area that day, please come forward.