The man has yet to be identified but is believed to be a middle-aged visitor from the Mainland, said park spokesman Dominic Cardea. No one saw the man fall, and the circumstances leading to his death are unknown at this point, Cardea said.

What is known is that he was walking off the established trail, he said.

The man was reported missing Wednesday by a rental car company after the park towed a rental car that had been left at the overlook for several days.

Rangers along the western rim of Haleakala near Leleiwi spotted the body that same day, but unstable weather and terrain hampered recovery efforts Wednesday and yesterday, but a team was expected to secure the body and fly it out via helicopter by the end of the day.