Hiker left Finger Lake 2PM Sat to summit NC via Couloir, no gear taken only daypack and headlamp. Sunday two teams of two, interviewed RP and other climbers in area, we did a hasty search first team went past PLS (place last seen) ie. camp, up to Firebird Ridge, second team to Willow Lake area, no sign. Day two another team sent to cover area from camp to Firebird and over to the Glacier, again no sign interviewed climbers who have been on Middle Pal and NC nobody had seen the NC register yet. Day three went in with 15 people on 6 teams sent one to summit via Firebird Ridge, they found he had signed the register 8:30PM SAT. Another team climbed couloir and found a pair of crampons and an ice ax left neatly at top of ice, single set of tracks heading up. Teams on Glacier and drainages below reported no sign. Next day overnight teams continued, other teams were replaced with fresh searchers and more airial recon. We felt we had covered all areas pretty well except fo the bergstrom under the couior on Norman Clyde Glacier, prepared a specialized team and a military helicopter to lower them onto the site, safety was a major concernd from rockfall as well as slipping under glacier. As we were about to lift of with the cravass rescue team Sequoia Kinks helicopter spotted a fallen climber on thier side of the mountian, later identified as the hiker we were looking for. Teams from all over California sent thier best type 1 searchers / climbers to help, I will post the team names later once I can review the mission rooster.