UPDATED Tuesday: St. Mary's Academy released this statement on the school's Facebook page:

Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the recent loss of two St. Mary's students. Emily Lang '16 and Emma Place '16 were hiking together Saturday, August 12 and experienced a tragic accident. Our prayers, blessings and deepest condolences are with the family and friends of Emily and Emma.

Please join us as we gather as a community in prayer Tuesday, August 15 at 7pm in our school auditorium.

As a community, let us be here for one another in support, care, and prayer. In the words of Blessed Mother Marie Rose, "Since we tread along the same way, let us lend a hand to one another to help surmount the difficulties that present themselves."

May the peace of the Lord be with us all and especially bless the families of Emily and Emma with courage and grace.

***

Two Portland women apparently fell to their deaths off a Pacific Crest Trail cliff on Mount Hood, officials said Monday.

The bodies of Emma C. Place and Emily D. Lang, both 19, were found Saturday about 6 miles northwest of Timberline Lodge. Their bodies were on rocks at the base of a waterfall, authorities said.

"It looked like a freak accident," said Steve Rollins, rescue leader of Portland Mountain Rescue. "A really sad freak accident."

The women had set up camp at the top of the waterfall, with a tent and backpacks, Rollins said. It appeared that they lost their footing on the slippery rocks and fell, said Rollins and Clackamas County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Jensen.

The Sheriff's Office hasn't been able to find anyone who saw the women fall, Jensen said.

Passing hikers called 911 early Saturday evening to report seeing the bodies, Jensen said. The women apparently fell about 150 feet.

A team of rescuers reached them about 11:50 p.m. Saturday and confirmed they were dead, Jensen said.

A second group of emergency workers hiked in about 6:45 a.m. Sunday. It took them about an hour and a half to hike to the location, Rollins said.

"We started at Timberline, went west on the Round-the-Mountain trail to Zigzag Canyon and then went down and back," he said.

He said the 6-mile route is a difficult hike, with plenty of switchbacks.

"They were a lot of twists and turns going down into and getting out of Zigzag Canyon," Rollins said.

The crew arrived at the scene about 8:45 a.m. Clackamas County officials recovered two cellphones -- one of them in the water -- but have been unable to retrieve any information from them.

The crew carried the bodies out on separate litters. They arrived back at Timberline Lodge about noon Sunday.

Jensen said officials have no idea when the women fell. The trail is fairly popular, Rollins said.

Both teenagers went to St. Mary's Academy in Portland. Lang had attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., and Place studied at Gonzaga University in Spokane.

Place's Facebook posts show a politically aware student who shared photos of the January Women's March, urged in February that people ask the Gonzaga board to drop investments in any publicly traded fossil fuel companies and linked to a story last year about Gonzaga students taking to the sidewalks to spread positive messages of kindness, unity and love.

Lang's Facebook page shows a 2013 photo of both of the young women at the beach sitting on a red-and-white-checked blanket with their arms slung around each other.

Two other people have died so far this year on Mount Hood. One was climbing the mountain. The other was skiing.

Jensen asks anyone who has information — or was around the trail between Timberline Lodge and Paradise Park before early Saturday evening — to call the agency's tip line, 503-723-4949, or fill out an online form. Tipsters should reference case No. 17-21562.

— Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

-- Lynne Terry