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Body Thought to Be Missing Seattle Man Found on Phoenix Mountain

A body found on Phoenix's Camelback Mountain on Tuesday has been tentatively identified as a Seattle man who went missing after a weekend hike.
Eric Fernandes.
Eric Fernandes.Courtesy of Fernandes family

A body found on Phoenix's Camelback Mountain on Tuesday has been tentatively identified as a Seattle man who went missing after a weekend hike.

Hikers found the body, believed to be Eric Fernandes, 23, off a trail about 200 feet from the mountain's peak, Phoenix Sgt. Trent Crump said.

"It appears as though he crawled up underneath some brush and some trees to shelter himself from the sun," Crump said.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office was working on confirming the identity of the body, Crump added.

Eric Fernandes.
Eric Fernandes.Courtesy of Fernandes family

Fernandes was last seen Saturday at about 1:30 p.m. purchasing hiking supplies at a nearby sporting store. A search for him was halted hours before the body was found on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Fernandes' cellphone battery died Saturday. The last signals investigators were able to recover placed his phone in the Glendale area, where Fernandes was staying with his father, NBC affiliate KING5 in Seattle reported.

Police told KING5 that Fernandes went on hikes at home, but may not have been accustomed to the temperatures or terrain he would have encountered on Camelback over the weekend.

—Elizabeth Chuck