In a statement, Kalie McCrystal’s sister and mother reflected on the lawyer and athlete’s legacy
Credit: Kalie McCrystal/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Missing Canadian mountain runner Kalie McCrystal’s family is acknowledging her death
- The attorney and athlete was practicing an attempt to summit and descend the Matterhorn in the Alps
- McCrystal, 38, went missing on Sept. 1
The family of missing Canadian mountain runner Kalie McCrystal is acknowledging her death, two weeks after she went missing during a practice run in the Alps.
In a statement released by Kalie’s sister Jody McCrystal and their mother, Wendy Cooper, the family members thanked search-and-rescue teams for their efforts in trying to find the Squamish, British Columbia lawyer.
“It has been two weeks since our dearest Kalie went missing during a reconnaissance on the Matterhorn,” their statement, shared on Tuesday, Sept. 15, began. “Since then, the Guardia di Finanza mountain rescue team has worked tirelessly to explore every possible avenue at their disposal. They have been unwavering in their professionalism, kindness, and commitment to finding Kalie. As a family, it has meant a great deal to us throughout the search to know that everything that could be done was being done.”
The mother and sister continued, “We are eternally grateful to them. We also wish to extend our gratitude to the RCMP and the Canadian Embassy for their support and assistance during this time.”
Credit: Kalie McCrystal/Instagram
McCrystal, 38, went missing on Sept. 1 ahead of an attempt to break a record in the Alps along the Switzerland-Italy border.
The experienced mountaineer and skyrunner was aiming to break the record for the fastest known time to summit and descend the Matterhorn, according to CBC News.
McCrystal’s family members now believe she died while descending the mountain.
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“Despite Kalie’s exceptional skill and experience in technical mountain terrain, including her previous experience on the Matterhorn itself, everything we now know suggests she fell while descending,” the mother and sister said in the statement.
The statement continued, “This is not the outcome any of us had hoped for, and it is very difficult to accept.”
McCrystal’s family and friends held out hope that she would be found even after a helicopter search was suspended, according to the CBC.
“I know that this objective was well within her capabilities,” Duncan O’Regan, a friend of the elite athlete and fellow mountain runner, told the outlet. “She’s done much more difficult things, and this is not something that is beyond her capabilities. She’s comfortable in this terrain.”
In the wake of her presumed death, McCrystal’s family is now reflecting on her legacy.
“Kalie was an incredibly special person,” the family’s statement reads. “She moved through life with equal parts determination and fun. Her absence will undoubtedly leave a huge hole in the communities she was so invested in, across Skyrunning, Squamish and beyond.”
The statement concludes, “While we desperately wish we could have found her, we find peace in knowing that she was doing what made her feel most alive until her very last moments, and that she remains among the mountains where she felt most at home.”
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