Chinese rescuers have confirmed that the body found on a mountain in southwest China's Sichuan Province, suspected to be one of the two U.S. climbers who have been missing since early November, is that of a white male.

"The body, which was discovered at an altitude of 5,300 metes on Genyen Mountain, was dressed in professional mountaineering clothing," Lin Li, secretary general of the Sichuan Mountaineering Association, told Xinhua on Friday.

"The U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, the provincial capital, and local government departments have dispatched people to identify the victim," Lin said.

Many suspect the dead climber is 52-year-old Charlie Fowler, who, along with compatriot Christine Boskoff, was last heard from in early November. They both missed their return flights to the United States on December 7.

Their luggage was found last Friday at the home of a villager in Lamaya Town near Genyen Mountain in Sichuan.

Fowler has been a mountain climber for 35 years and is an expert on climbing in southwestern China, while Christine Boskoff, 39, is among the top female high-altitude climbers in the world who has ascended six of the world's peaks over 7,800 meters, including Mt Everest.

(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2006)