Last week, different agencies conducted two lifesaving rescues in the San Jacinto wilderness area.

The first occurred Wednesday, June 10. About 9:30 p.m., Riverside County Sheriff’s Department deputies from the Cabazon Station were dispatched to assist with a search and rescue on the Skyline Trail.

Three hikers were reported to be dehydrated and unable to walk off the mountain unassisted. The worn-out hikers were Palm Springs residents Thea Rabb, 34, and Thomas Adams, 49, and 29 Palms resident Alvin Abalos, 32, according to the Sheriff’s Department press release.

The Palm Springs Police Department was initially contacted. It requested the assistance of the Sheriff’s Department’s Aviation Unit, which did locate the hikers and transported them off the mountain without incident.

Since the hikers were found within the Palm Springs Police Department jurisdiction, PSPD assumed investigative responsibility for the incident.

The second rescue occurred Saturday and resulted in a third and unexpected rescue, too, according to a California Department of Parks and Recreation press release.

The State Parks rescued a lost 12-year-old female hiker from Hesperia.

About 4 p.m., the State Parks received a phone call regarding a missing 12-year-old female. Her mother had last seen the girl about an hour before the call. She had been walking from the east end of Long Valley towards the restroom, which were about three-quarters of a mile away.

After the call, a State Parks Rescue Team was quickly assembled and began the search.  Within 30 minutes, the missing child was found — about a half-mile outside of Long Valley in the wilderness.

While searching for the child, the rescue team unexpectedly found a couple lost in Long Valley Drainage. The adult male and female were down the drainage heading toward Palm Springs in dangerous terrain.

All parties were brought to safety unharmed.

1 COMMENT

  1. Excellent reporting.
    Please note that 29 Palms is incorrect. There is a Post-office requirement that all city names start with alphabet.
    Thousand Oaks, TWENTY-NINE Palms, Dos Palos.
    In death Valley there was a mining town nicknamed 22 Skidoo, when the post office was named the numerical prefix was dropped to only Skidoo. Now it’s a ghost town, and no post office.