Mountaineer found dead hanging from cliff in climbing gear covered in BEE STINGS...along with his loyal dog

55-year-old Steven Johnson was found in the Santa Rita Mountains

The cause of death hasn't been determined yet, but officials say Johnson was covered with stings when he was found

A climber and his faithful dog have perished in Arizona after they appear to have been attacked by killer bees as he scaled a cliff.



Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office says that 55-year-old Steven Johnson, a counselor with some 30 years experience hiking and climbing was found dead, hanging 70-feet from the ground in his climbing gear in the Santa Rita Mountains on Monday night.



The cause of death has not been determined yet, but officials said that Johnson was covered in bee stings when he was found while his dead dog was discovered at the top of the cliff.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office says 55-year-old Steven Johnson (pictured) was found in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson late Monday

Johnson was last seen Friday when he went hiking, and friends became worried when he didn't go to work on Monday.

Sheriff's Lt. Raoul Rodriguez says Johnson may have disturbed bees by hammering a spike into the cliff.

Search and rescue teams found both Johnson and his dog dead in the Santa Rita Mountains on Monday night

Rodriguez of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said the 55-year-old man was found hanging from his climbing gear on a cliff near Mount Hopkins

Killer Bees in Arizona: Africanized bee attacks on the rise Africanized bees, also known as killer bees are hybrids of the African honey bee which are a hostile and invasive species.

They arrived in America in 1957 when a stand-in bee-keeper accidently released 26 Tanzanian queen bees and drones which were being used for research purposes.

After the accidental released, the bees started to breed with the Brazilian bees and produced what we now know as Africanized honeybees or killer bees.

The Africanized honey bee or AHB is similar in physical characteristics to European honey bees - the major difference being in their defensive behavior.

They swarm to attack and sting in large numbers when they detect any threat from 50 feet away.

Every year around a dozen swarm attacks are atributed to Africanized honey bees in the south west of the country.

In 2011, a 95-year-old man was out walking in Phoenix when he was attacked and stung 600 times - remarkably surviving.

Scientists estimate as general rule of thumb that ten stings per pound of body weight equals a fatality.

So a person weighing 150 pounds would need to be stung roughly 1,500 times to be killed.

'He had anchored himself to the wall as he was going down so he was actually anchored and he must have been attacked and was not able to climb back up or go back down,' said Rodriguez.

He said Johnson's dog had also been attacked by bees and was found dead nearby.

Johnson is described as a father, climber and friend, who was well-liked throughout the climbing community in Southern Arizona.



'It's devastating news for the Tucson community, for sure, he was a very prolific climber in Tucson,' said John Mavko, who works at Rocks & Ropes, a climbing facility that was frequented by Johnson.



Deputies of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department and its search and rescue unit found Johnson’s body Monday at 6:30 p.m..



The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy on Wednesday to determine the cause of his death.

Killer bees have become a problem in the south west of the country, especially in cities like Phoenix and Tuscson which have programs to destroy them for public safety.



However, despite their fearsome reputation, Dr. May Berenbaum, a professor and department head at the University of Illinois' Department of Entomology and one of the country's leading bee experts said that public information is the key to limiting fatalities.



'When bees sting, it's always in defense. They're not cruising the neighborhood to make trouble,' said Berenbaum. 'They're not kamikaze, intent on their own destruction. They sting if they perceive a threat on their own home.'



However, Berenbaum's description of an African bee attack to ABC News makes for disturbing reading.



Once stung, the bee releases a pheromone that attracts other bees to attack - which is why most African bee attacks are in swarms.