JACKSON HOLE, Wyo., July 23 (UPI) -- Rangers at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming said they recovered the body of a climber who was knocked off a mountainside during a lightning storm.
Park officials said the victim, Brandon Oldenkamp, 21, of Sanborn, Iowa, was in a climbing harness and tied to a rope when the lightning struck, the Jackson Hole (Wyo.) Daily reported Friday. Park officials said his friends watched as he disappeared at a feature known as the Belly Roll on the Owen-Spalding route.
Rangers found Oldenkamp's body Thursday about 2,000 feet down in Valhalla Canyon, park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.
Park officials were investigating the cause of death, Skaggs said, because they were unsure whether the fall or lightning killed the climber. They also were examining the climber's safety system, the spokeswoman said.
The lightning storm Wednesday injured 16 other mountain climbers, officials said.
