UPDATE: Crews May Have Spotted Missing Climber Dallas Kloke

Whatcom County rescue crews think they may have spotted missing climber Dallas Kloke in a photo snapped during a flight Monday, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Reporter Lee Stoll said. Crews looked at photos taken during their flight over the area where Kloke fell and a volunteer thought he spotted him at about 6,400 feet. Kloke's condition is uncertain.

Ground crews were told about the location but couldn’t get there, Stoll said. They’re waiting for a break in the weather Tuesday to try and get back up.

Kloke disappeared after falling down a steep rock face in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

According to the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, the climbing accident occurred on Saturday afternoon on the Pleiades Peaks, just east of Mount Larrabee.

Deputy George Ratacyczak, coordinator with Whatcom County Search and Rescue, told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News that the sheriff's office received a report of a climbing accident at about 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The report indicated that Kloke, 71, of Anacortes, had fallen from just short of the summit down the south face of the mountain.

Ratacyczak said that Kloke was part of a five-person climbing party on a day climb, traversing the Pleiades Peaks.

While reaching one of the east summits, one of the climbers said he had reached the summit, while Kloke was ascending behind him.

According to climbers' reports, Kloke grabbed a rock, but the rock sheared away from the ground, sending both the rock and Kloke tumbling off of the summit down a near vertical rock face.

Due to the steep terrain and distance down, the other climbers lost sight of Kloke and could not see how far he fell.

The climbers then descended about 300 feet and located a couple of pieces of his equipment, but could not locate Kloke and believe he continued to fall past that point.

They were not equipped to descend any further, so the group then climbed out to call for help.

The climbers reported that the fall occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

A U.S. Navy Search and Rescue Helicopter from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station responded to the scene, along with volunteers from Bellingham and Skagit County Mountain Rescue Teams. Volunteers boarded the Navy rescue helicopter and flew to the area after dark. Once in the area, high winds did not allow the aircraft near the Pleiades Peaks to begin a search or drop off the climbers.

The rescue attempt was aborted at that time due to the extreme danger caused by the winds in the area.

Deputy Ratacyczak reports that the area of the accident is extremely dangerous due to the steep terrain, unstable rocks and loose rocky ground.

It was determined that the area was too dangerous to climb in after dark.

The remaining four climbers from the climbing group were interviewed at length, and also advised that the terrain was very difficult and should not be attempted after dark.

On Sunday, volunteer climbers from the Bellingham and Skagit Mountain Rescue Teams climbed onto a spot just below the south face of the Pleiades Peaks and attempted to locate Kloke using telescopes, so a rescue plan could be developed once his location was known.

Several attempts were also made to fly into the area to spot Kloke from the air.

Both efforts were unsuccessful due to the cloud cover at that elevation.

Dallas Kloke is a well-known, highly experienced climber who is very familiar with climbing in the North Cascades and has done so for over 50 years, according to his family.