The Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit helped extricate two lost hikers from the Mt. San Jacinto State Park and State Wilderness, Thursday night, July 31.
About 8:45 p.m., the Riverside County Sheriff’s dispatch unit received a call from the two lost hikers. During the late morning and afternoon, they had hiked to San Jacinto Peak. But when leaving the Peak area, they mistakenly took a trail that put them on the Pacific Crest Trail between Little Round Valley Camp and Black Mountain Group Camp, according to the Sheriff’s Department press release.
The hikers were identified as Ali Esparza, 23, of Jamul, CA and Phuong Nguyen, 25, of San Diego.
Besides RMRU and sheriff’s deputies, the Sheriff’s Aviation unit and staff from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway participated in searching for the two lost hikers. About two hours later, the helicopter and RMRU members found them and they were airlifted to safety. The hikers were found in good health and no medical treatment was needed.
