A hiker died last week while scrambling a peak in Mount Rainier National Park.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as Robert Michael Moll, 41, of Rowley, Massachusetts. Moll was a journalist and the author.
Park rangers were notified about noon July 19 that a man had fallen about 100 feet off Barrier Peak near Owyhigh Lake.
His partner climbed down to Moll before rangers arrived and found him unresponsive.
Scroll down to continue reading
More news from KIRO 7
- 1 dead, 7 injured after bus accident in SeaTac
- Suspected car prowler shot by Covington homeowner
- King County tricked into paying scammers more than $220,000
- PHOTOS: SeaTac bus crash: Multiple people hurt, 1 killed near Sea-Tac International Airport
- Do you have an investigative story tip? Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com
A rescue team went to the 6,521-foot peak and found Moll dead.
A helicopter airlifted him to the White River area, where he was turned over to medical examiners.
It was not immediately clear what caused Moll to fall.
The Barrier Peak climb is often combined with nearby Governors Ridge. The two are connected by a saddle.
Moll was an editor and author of two books, “The Art of Dying” and “What Your Body Knows About God.”
As a journalist, he worked for Grayslake Times, Citizen Media and Christianity Today. His op-eds were published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and Huffington Post, among others.
He published his first book in 2010 after volunteering for several years as a hospice chaplain.
A year later, Moll became communications officer to the president for World Vision, which describes itself as “an Evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development and advocacy organization.”
He most recently worked as director of business operations for Eventide Asset Management.
“Wise beyond his years; gone before his time,” Al Hsu, Moll’s longtime editor, said in a written statement. “Rob’s awareness of his mortality became a gift to others facing death. While we grieve him, I am grateful that Rob pointed his readers beyond death to the hope of resurrection and life everlasting.”
Moll is survived by his wife, Clarissa, and four children.
A GoFundMe page described Moll as a "loyal and congenial work colleague; a caring friend with a warm smile and a hearty laugh; a man of faith who challenged his fellow Christians (especially through his books and articles) to help change the world for the better; and, to his wife Clarissa and his four children, a strong yet gentle and utterly devoted husband and father."
By Thursday at noon, the page had raised nearly $11,000 to help send his children to college.
Moll and his family sponsored children in Malawi and ran a Global 6k for World Vision, the organization said on its website.
The News Tribune
