Free Republic

The body of American hiker Kathleen Namphy, who perished on Sunday on Mount Damavand, was eventually retrieved late Friday and was sent to Tehran's morgue Saturday morning. A group of rescuers from Iranian Red Crescent and law enforcement forces braved harsh climate to stretcher down the body of the 69-year-old honored Stanford lecturer from the brink of a nose-shaped cliff, about 4,000 meters deep. "The main reason for the 4-day delay has been ruthless weather conditions, but the rescue team, including Iran's elite mountaineers, did manage to bring down the well-preserved body Friday midnight," said a Red Crescent official. The...

The caller told Lisa Namphy that he was from the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, Iran. A hiker had come down from snow-capped Mount Damavand on Sunday with news that Namphy's mother had died on the mountain trail. Then things got worse. "There are so many conflicting stories,'' Namphy, of Palo Alto, said. ``And we have so little information. What we do know is that my mother is missing on Mount Damavand.'' Kathleen Namphy's family wasn't used to worrying about her. The 69-year-old mother, cancer survivor, veteran world traveler, peace activist and honored Stanford lecturer had been adventuring around the planet...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - (KRT) - Kathleen Namphy was dazed and bleeding. Her frightened interpreter called for help, and a group of hikers promised to stay with the 69-year-old retired Stanford lecturer as he ran down the snow-covered Iranian mountain. But when rescuers reached the spot near the summit of Mt. Damavand more than four hours later, Namphy - and the hikers - had vanished. Now hundreds of searchers, aided by Iranian Army helicopters, are scouring the three-mile high mountain near Tehran for any sign of the Palo Alto, Calif., woman. Namphy, a veteran hiker who scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro last...