UPDATE 12/21/25 at 6:40 p.m. ET — The Inyo County Coroner’s Office confirmed on Saturday, December 20, that the body recovered from Mt. Whitney was Joseph Brambila, according to a press release obtained by Us Weekly.
“The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office extends its condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Brambila and appreciates the public’s patience and understanding throughout this complex recovery operation,” the statement read.
Original story below:
A body has been found in California’s Mount Whitney amid a search for missing hiking YouTuber Joseph Brambila, who disappeared in November.
“On November 12, 2025, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible deceased individual on Mt. Whitney,” the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said in a Monday, December 15, press release. “Due to the remote and hazardous location and multiple storms that moved in just after, recovery operations were further complicated and required extensive planning and coordination over several weeks.”
The release, which was shared via Facebook, noted that the “deceased individual was successfully recovered” on Monday after “multiple helicopter-assisted and ground operations.”
“Formal identification is pending with the Inyo County Coroner’s Office. We will release further information as it becomes available,” the statement read. “While identification is pending, we recognize the difficulty of this situation and extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.”
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The release continued, “The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office is aware that the public knows of the reported missing person in the area. Still, we caution anyone from making conclusions until positive identification is made.”
Brambila, who turned 21 days before he went missing in November, was reported missing by his family after they did not hear from him. His friend Luis Buenrostro told The Los Angeles Times that he last saw Brambila at Trail Crest in Mount Whitney, where the YouTuber had previously filmed a video in June.
He has not been found since he filmed a YouTube video on the mountain in November and said he would be taking a “short cut” on the way back, per the outlet
The outlet reported that Brambila had previously posted a video of himself sliding down Mount Whitney in June by way of the “glissade” — a maneuver that requires the use of an ice pick and a helmet. When Brambila returned to Mount Whitney on November 11, the outlet noted that the weather conditions can change without warning.
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A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told People in a statement on Wednesday, December 17, that Brambila’s family was present during the recovery process but did not view the body of the deceased. The family was informed of the clothing worn by the individual, but “clothing alone is not considered a legal or positive means of identification,” the spokesperson noted.
Us Weekly reached out to the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
As the search for Brambila continues, his girlfriend, Darlene Molina, told SFGate that he was prepared hiker.
“He loves disconnecting from the world and spending time with himself in nature,” Molina told the outlet earlier this month. “He has told his friends that he’ll turn his phone off during hikes but is always recording and talking to himself for vlogs.”
Molina noted that Brambila “wasn’t afraid to turn around if he got to a spot he couldn’t handle,” noting that he hiked halfway up Yosemite’s Half Dome before turning around. Molina added that she felt “helpless” amid the search for Brambila.
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