Italian authorities have suspended the search for a Canadian skyrunner who has been missing in the Alps for a week, officials told AFP on Tuesday. A spokesman for Italy’s mountain rescue service said the last helicopter flight to search for Kalie McCrystal was on Monday on the Italian side of the Matterhorn, which is 4,478 metres high. The search “is suspended,” the spokesman said. An official from a police department responsible for mountain rescues in the Val d’Aosta region said authorities were still checking for any signals from devices that McCrystal had with her. Athletics Canada said the 38-year-old is “an experienced skyrunner and mountaineer, with many years of experience in technical and high-altitude mountain environments”. According to media reports, McCrystal, a trophy-winning runner, was preparing to break the record for going up and down the Matterhorn in less than five hours. She was last seen by some Polish climbers at an altitude of around 4,250 metres on September 1, after posting a selfie by a mountain refuge at around 3,800 metres, the reports said.
