(This story was taken from a State Parks press release.)
Mt. San Jacinto State Park spokesperson Todd Friedman reported four rescues involving 12 hikers in the wilderness, all on Sunday.
State Parks received a call of a missing hiker at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The 45-year-old man from Huntington Beach got separated from his scouting troop while descending from the peak. A State Parks rescue team was quickly assembled and found the subject a few hours later, about 1 mile from Mt. San Jacinto peak.
Ironically, while searching for the reported missing hiker, the State Parks Rescue Team found a lost hiker at about 3 p.m. The lost hiker, a female in her 20s from Canada, was found about a half mile off trail about 2 miles from the peak.
Then, at about 3:30 p.m., State Parks received a report of seven dehydrated hikers on the Skyline route. The hikers had run out of water about 2 miles down the route. A State Park Rescue Team was quickly assembled along with a California Highway Patrol airplane.
The State Parks Rescue Team found the seven hikers about one hour later. The seven hikers varied in age from 30 to 50 years old, all from Mexico. All of the hikers were fatigued and dehydrated. State Parks gave the hikers water and assisted them to the top of the Skyline route, which ends at Long Valley.
When the team was headed back to the ranger station at about 5 p.m., they found three lost male hikers ages 19, 21 and 21 years old from Pasadena, Van Nuys and Lake Balboa, 1.5 miles off trail in the wilderness. The three lost hikers were escorted back to Long Valley.
