ME confirms cause of deaths for 2 climbers who died on Mount Rainier
An investigation is ongoing after two climbers were found dead at Mount Rainier National Park on Jan. 20.
Jiri Richter, 51 of Seattle, and Benjamin Watson, 35 of Seattle, were the men found dead near Wilson Glacier, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office. Richter died of multiple blunt-force injuries and Watson died from blunt-force injuries of head. Their deaths were ruled accidental, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Park rangers began an inquiry on Jan. 18 as Richter’s and Watson’s climbing permits were overdue. Their emergency contacts reported they had not heard from them since Saturday, The News Tribune reported.
Rangers found their vehicle in the Paradise parking lot. Searchers used equipment which found two non-moving people near Wilson Glacier.
Ground teams found the climbers’ bodies at about 9,600-feet in elevation. They were recovered and taken to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Those who knew Richter and Watson shared tributes to them through social media and a climbers’ board. Meredith Mosman met Richter in 2016 through her husband because they had been climbing partners.
“I think he had over 20 years of climbing experience, and he was kind of like a mentor to me, because I started learning about the time that I met him,” Mosman told The News Tribune on Jan. 28. “I think a lot of people in the climbing community and the paragliding community just thought very highly of him.”
Mosman said she always felt safe when she was with Richter in the mountains. She recalled joining Richter and her husband for a difficult climb on Mount Rainier.
“[Richter] wouldn’t say a lot to me, but he would give me a gentle pat on the shoulder and say a joke or something, and tell me that I could do it, and he believed in me,” she said.
Mosman said she hopes people remember how kind Richter was. She said during the grueling climb, it was difficult for her to eat in the high altitude, so Richter shared some warm Kool-Aid with her.
“I focused more on trail running the last few years, and he knew I was running a lot, so he asked me about that, and he was just a really kind person,” Mosman said.
Stacia Glenn, a close friend of Watson’s, previously told The News Tribune that he was part of the tight-knit climbing community in the state.
She shared a list of all the mountains Watson climbed, including summits at Mount Rainier and an 18,491-foot ascent in December 2018 at Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico.
“Ben was brimming with compassion, truly listened and wanted to make everyone’s day a little better,” Glenn said in a Facebook post she shared with The News Tribune.
Glenn said Watson came to Washington from Virginia for an environmental science job but stayed for the outdoors.
Watson’s wife, Rena Hamzey, previously shared with The News Tribune that he was “an avid lover of the outdoors” and said he “had the mountain bug” ever since he could walk.
“When he wasn’t climbing, skiing, hiking, biking, or running, he was curled up on the couch with our two cats watching weather videos, researching trip reports, and playing online chess,” Hamzey said. “The only things he loved more than adventure were his doting family and friends, along with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. To know him and be loved by him was a great honor, and he will be sorely missed.”
Scott Clemans, spokesperson for the National Park Service, told The News Tribune Wednesday that the investigation into the climbers’ deaths is ongoing.
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
