Body of Samuels climber recovered

Two different searches in Boundary County this past weekend ended in two different outcomes, officials said.

In one, Christian Kreiger, 36, of Samuels, was found deceased by members of the Boundary Search and Dive Rescue Team Sunday morning after a days-long search.  

Kreiger had been rock climbing and had apparently fallen several hundred feet and died from his injuries, Andrew O’Neel, Boundary County public information officer, said. 

The search and rescue team was first notified that Kreiger was missing in the Harrison Peak area of Boundary County at 6:40 p.m. Friday, July 12. The team began search efforts around 9:30 p.m. and continued to search throughout Saturday. Two Bear Air and Civil Air Patrol also joined the effort that day and provided aerial support, O’Neel said. 

After suspending the search Saturday night due to darkness and the high risk of searching during the night, searchers resumed their efforts at 6 a.m. Sunday. Ground search teams located Kreiger’s body at approximately 10:37 a.m. Sunday.  

Due to the rugged terrain, Spokane County Sheriff's Office air assets were utilized to retrieve Kreiger’s remains. 

Simultaneously, the Boundary Search and Dive Rescue Team was notified Friday of another missing person in the same general area unrelated to Kreiger. Crews were separated into a second search team, which was able to locate the missing hiker, Heidi Vanderzee, in good physical condition at 2:14 a.m. Saturday, July 13. 

Boundary County thanked the abovementioned organizations and the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office Volunteer Search & Rescue Team for their hard work. 

The Boundary Search and Dive Rescue Team reminded backcountry recreators to never go alone, stay with the group, and always let someone know where they plan to go and when they’ll be back.