Body of man found at bottom of cliff below Echo Summit

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On Sunday, December 9 at 5:15 p.m., a good Samaritan called authorities to alert them of a suspicious find at a turn out on Highway 50 on Echo Summit. A backpack was found on the side of the road with footprints leading from that spot to an outcropping above Christmas Valley and SR89 in Meyers.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) team and deputies, California Highway Patrol officers and the helicopter were among those who responded to the scene, focusing on the hillside to the west of the highway. They were unsure if there was a person on the slope, but they were following all precautions.

The search was called off due to dropping temperatures and darkness just after 8:00 p.m. It was resumed at 7:00 a.m. Monday, December 10.

At 7:39 a.m., the CHP helicopter spotted a body at the bottom of a cliff and SAR teams dropped down to the area. There they found a deceased male.

No foul play is suspected and the incident is still under investigation according to Sgt. Moke Auwae of the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.

The name and hometown of the deceased have not been released, awaiting notification of next-of-kin. Sgt. Auwae did say the man was born in 1997.