BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. -- A hiker who disappeared Wednesday afternoon was found dead at the bottom of a cliff on one of Colorado's 14,000-foot mountains, a Summit County Rescue team member said Thursday.

The 31-year-old master chef, who was visiting from Kansas City, Mo., with his family, went for a hike alone at the Blue Lakes trailhead on Quandary Mountain Wednesday morning. Ryan Torpey told his family he was hiking for a "couple of hours," so when he failed to return by 5:30 p.m., his family reported him missing, authorities said.

After two days of searching, rescuers flying overhead found his body near the West Ridge route at 11:15 a.m. A Flight for Life helicopter who was helping with the aerial search spotted Torpey's body near the bottom of a cliff in a steep, rocky couloir on Quandary's west side, said Anna DeBattiste, with Summit County Rescue.

The coroner ruled that Torpey died from blunt-force trauma consistent with a fall.

It took three hours for rescuers to set up rope-rigging systems to move his body to a landing zone, where the Flight for Life helicopter was able to pick him up.

Family members said Torpey was an experienced hiker who had hiked Quandary before.

Rescuers said hikers should use extra precaution when hiking in steep, rocky areas during and after rainfall, as rocks can become treacherously slippery.

"It is also very important to be aware of your surroundings and plan your route, and to make sure you have the necessary technical gear if you plan to climb technical terrain," DeBattiste said.

The initial search involved at least 27 people, who started scouring the mountain Wednesday afternoon. The Summit County Rescue Group dispatched 10 teams of searchers, who covered all sides of the 14er, searching top to bottom, with no results.

The search went until after 3 a.m. and resumed again at 6 a.m. Thursday.

However, on Thurdsay, rescuers from Mesa, Larimer, Routt and Garfield counties, as well as crews from Rocky Mountain Rescue and Aspen Mountain Rescue, were called in to assist in the search on the ground. Helicopters from the High Altitude Training Center of the Army National Guard and the Flight for Life helicopter helped search the area by air.