By Dani Woodland
A Peruvian rescue team found the bodies of a BYU student and two other young Americans Sunday (July 2, 2006) in a 100-foot-deep crevasse in the Andes mountains, Peruvian authorities told the Associated Press Monday.
Brennan Larson, a 24-year-old geology major from Vacaville, Calif., and his two climbing companions, siblings Kristen Yoder and Dustin Yoder, disappeared near the summit of the glacier-covered Artesonraju peak in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru. They failed to return to their base camp June 28.
Police Maj. Edmundo Vidal of the High Mountain Rescue Unit said the bodies were being evacuated Monday in a descent expected to last into the night, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Authorities told the newspaper the three climbers were on a fairly treacherous route without a guide. They said they did not know the cause of the fall.
Larson's roommate of two years, Alvin Anderson, said climbing the Artesonraju peak was something Larson had dreamed about for a long time.
'He died doing what he loved doing,' he said.
Larson's love of the outdoors complimented his love of people and of God, Anderson said.
'Brennan was one of the most genuinely selfless people I know,' Anderson said. 'He was an incredible man - cheerful, optimistic and a great friend.'
Others remember Larson for his charming love of mullets and air guitars. Diane Orme, a senior from Tualatin, Ore., said Larson once used a talent show as an opportunity to explain the finer points of air guitar-playing to the BYU 48th ward. Larson even got the bishop to try out a few tricks.
Larson's parents traveled to Peru to retrieve their son's body Monday, according to BYU University Communications.
'On behalf of the university, I can say that our hearts and our prayers go out to the Larson family as they go about the tragic duty as they retrieve their son from Peru,' said BYU spokesman Brent Harker. 'We wish them the best in the future.'