Snowstorm Slows Search for 3 Mt. Whitney Hikers

Snowstorms are hampering the search for three missing hikers on California's Mt. Whitney.

Park spokeswoman Dana Dierkes says the three men from the Omaha, Neb.-area went missing on a hike Monday evening on the 14,494-foot Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States.

The Fresno Bee says about 45 people are assigned to the search but snowstorms are making it difficult. A command post dispatcher says Thursday that there's snow above 8,000 feet.

The men have been identified as 34-year-old Philip Abraham, 45-year-old Dale Clymens and 43-year-old Steven Filips.

Abraham's girlfriend, Brandy O'Connor, tells KETV in Omaha that she had been receiving text messages from Abraham until 10:28 a.m. Tuesday and hasn't heard from him since.