LATEST May 13, 12:25 p.m. The hikers found dead on Mount Whitney last week were identified by the Tulare County Sheriff's Office as two Northern California residents. Patricia Bolan, a 29-year-old from Davis, and Andrew Niziol, a 28-year-old from South Lake Tahoe, were found dead on the mountain after an 11-hour search conducted by several local agencies. 

According to the Sacramento Bee, the two were a couple on an extended hiking trip, and Bolan had just earned her doctorate in physics at UC Davis. A few days before hiking Mount Whitney, the two appeared to have hiked Mount Shasta but didn't make it to the peak because of the weather, Niziol wrote on social media.

May 9, 6:30 p.m. The bodies of two hikers were found on Mount Whitney after an 11-hour search, officials said Thursday. 

The two were reported missing at approximately 8:30 p.m. Tuesday after they failed to return to their campsite, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said on social media. 

The missing hikers reportedly planned to hike to the “Notch” located on the side of the mountain, up a trail that leads to the summit, and then ski or snowboard back to their campsite at the Upper Boy Scout Lake in eastern California. 

Officials from the Inyo County Search & Rescue team conducted a search on foot and using a helicopter, and located the hikers after an 11-hour search, Lindsey Stine, a spokesperson for the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, told SFGATE. Both were deceased, Stine said. 

Summiting Mount Whitney “definitely has its risks and there are always dangers that can present depending on the weather and the terrain,” Stine said. 

Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the Sierra Nevada, is located at the Inyo-Tulare county line. Though the two hikers were found by the Inyo County officials, the Tulare County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office is handling the investigation, Stine said.

The coroner’s office has not revealed the identities of the hikers as of Thursday, Teresa Douglass, a spokesman for the agency, told SFGATE.

While the cause of death remains unknown, bad weather has persisted on Mount Whitney into late spring, according to a social media post from Inyo County Search & Rescue May 2. The post warned hikers to be careful due to a “serious storm” on Mount Whitney forecast to hit over the weekend.