Lynden climber missing on Mount Baker

  WHATCOM -- Searchers Tuesday were unable to locate a Lynden man missing on Mount Baker, and the search was suspended until weather conditions improve, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office reported Tuesday.
   The missing climber is identified as Kevin Lafleur, 31, a former science teacher at Lynden Christian High School.
  Lafleur told friends before he went out Saturday that he planned to summit Mount Baker, according to a sheriff's office press release. When he did not show up for one of his jobs on Monday, he was called in missing.
  Lafleur's vehicle was located on Glacier Creek Road at the snowline, indicating he intended to climb Baker using the standard route. Three friends started climbing to Heliotrope Ridge late Monday afternoon, planned to camp at dark and continue searching in the morning.
  On Tuesday, Bellingham Mountain Rescue volunteers and snowmobilers joined in searching the lower Coleman Glacier area for Lafleur, according to the release. Skagit volunteers also tried to search the east side of the mountain in case he had gone down into the Baker Lake area.
  Poor weather prevented searching above 7,000 feet, and no searching was planned on Wednesday due to ongoing adverse weather conditions, said sheriff's Sgt. Mark Jilk.
-- Calvin Bratt