Searchers on Tuesday recovered the body of Riley Zickel, a hiker who went missing on an overnight hike in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness more than three years ago.

The medical examiner’s office hadn’t yet identified a cause of death for Zickel but would likely do so within the next few days, said Sgt. Jeremy Landers with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. There’s no indication of foul play in Zickel’s death, he said.

Zickel, 21, left for the hike on July 30, 2016. When he didn’t return, family reported him missing. Over the following week, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office search-and-rescue team, as well as 340 people from several other agencies, searched for Zickel, covering more than 350 square miles in the Willamette National Forest around Mount Jefferson.

The search was called off on Aug. 6, 2016. The area is heavily forested with many valleys and ridges. Snow also complicated the search as crews covered areas between 5,000 and 7,500 feet elevation.

Three weeks ago, some climbers contacted the Sheriff’s Office, saying they had found a body in a glacial area above Jefferson Park on Mount Jefferson. The body was in a steep area with loose rock and rock avalanches, making recovery more difficult.

Zickel’s father, Robin Zickel, traveled from California to Oregon and was waiting at the trailhead when rescuers brought his son’s body out of the wilderness.

Landers said Zickel was alone when he went for his hike. A news release from 2016 said Zickel had planned to hike for one day and then go to Seattle the following day to visit friends. Zickel had last been seen on the Pacific Crest Trail just north of Jefferson Park, visiting with another hiker.

Landers said in the days following Zickel’s disappearance, searchers set up a tip line, asking people to report if they encountered Zickel on the trail. Landers said many people called to say they had seen him.

—Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.