Helicopter search suspended for Squamish, B.C., mountain runner missing on Matterhorn

Helicopter search suspended for Squamish, B.C., mountain runner missing on Matterhorn

Kalie McCrystal last seen Tuesday heading toward the summit of the mountain on the Swiss-Italian border

The helicopter search for Canadian mountain runner Kalie McCrystal has been suspended after repeated aerial sweeps of the Italian side of the Matterhorn failed to locate the 38-year-old athlete and lawyer from Squamish, B.C.

The dedicated helicopter operation was called off after a full day of aerial searches on Thursday turned up no trace of her.

McCrystal was last seen on Tuesday above the Jean-Antoine Carrel hut, at roughly 3,830 metres, making her way toward the summit.

Rescuers initially deployed a large air ambulance helicopter before switching to a smaller aircraft able to manoeuvre closer to the mountain's sheer rock faces and narrow gullies.

"We moved to a much smaller helicopter that can go closer to the cliffs and see in the couloirs," Valerio Segor of the Valle d'Aosta mountain rescue service told CBC. "They didn't see anything."

The last confirmed encounter came when a mountain guide crossed paths with McCrystal above the Carrel hut.

"She saw her still going up, quite quickly, and [McCrystal] told the guide she was training because she wanted to try the record," Segor said. "No one saw her since then."

One of the most recognizable peaks of the Alps, the Matterhorn straddles Italy and Switzerland, standing 4,478 metres tall.

McCrystal had been based in the Cervinia area of northwestern Italy preparing for an attempt to climb and descend the Matterhorn in less than five hours via the Lion Ridge, the main route from the Italian side.

Her disappearance prompted an extensive reconnaissance of the mountain. Crews searched steep gullies, cliff bands and sections of the route on both the Italian and Swiss sides.

Segor said they also used a helicopter-mounted RECCO detector, a radar system capable of locating compatible reflectors incorporated into some outdoor clothing and equipment. A friend had told authorities McCrystal's backpack might contain one.

"We tried with the antenna that was mounted on the helicopter," he said. "And we didn't get any sign of anything such as a RECCO beacon" on either the Italian or Swiss side.

Attempts to establish a signal from McCrystal's cellphone also failed.

McCrystal is one of Canada's leading skyrunners, athletes who compete over steep, treacherous mountain terrain at high altitude.

Earlier this year, she won Argentina's 4 Refugios Non-Stop, covering roughly 40 kilometres and 3,350 metres of elevation gain.

She had also recently tested herself on the Matterhorn. On Aug. 14, McCrystal completed a solo ascent and descent from Zermatt via the Swiss Hörnli Ridge in six hours, 47 minutes and 33 seconds, according to the Fastest Known Time database.

Ten days later, she competed in Italy's Trofeo Kima, one of the international skyrunning circuit's most technically demanding races.

Although the dedicated helicopter operation has been halted, the search is not entirely off.

"We've got the mountain guides that climb that mountain nearly every day," Segor said. "They are looking. If they see something, of course they will tell us."

Rescuers are now awaiting additional information from police that could provide a fresh lead and allow them to resume a more targeted search.

CBC News reached out to Global Affairs Canada; a spokesperson said the agency would respond as soon as it could.

Megan Williams has been covering all things Italian, from politics and the Vatican, to food and culture, to the plight of migrants in the Mediterranean, for more than two decades. Based in Rome, Megan has also told stories from other parts of Europe and the world and won many international prizes for her reporting, including a James Beard Award. Her radio documentaries can be heard on Ideas and The Current. Megan is also a regular guest host on CBC national radio shows.