Rescue Near San Antonio Falls (7/5-6/2010)

The call for a missing hiker on Baldy came in on the evening of July 5. Derek Rice, Greg Umberg, Eric Spaeth, and Dan Carlson, all of West Valley SAR were the first to respond. More resources were required, so the call went to other teams for assistance. Members of Rim SAR and the Cave Team responded. With Derek Rice running operations, Donna Newlin (Rim SAR) and Robert Misiuk (WV SAR) drew a strenuous assignment and made their way up Goode Canyon and over the ridge to the Sierra Hut Trail. Eric Spaeth and Dan Carlson descended San Antonio Canyon while Greg used a searchlight focused up the canyon. Faint cries for help could be heard in the San Antonio Falls area, but the team descending the canyon halted their descent because of the rock fall hazard, and the unknown location of the subject. 40-King was called to fly the area, but they were also unsuccessful at locating the hiker. Another airship was ordered for "first light" and arrived on scene at 0630 hours the following morning.

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In the morning light, the airship was able to spot the hiker above the fourth set of falls in San Antonio Canyon. 40-King tried, unsuccessfully, to find a one skid LZ, but they were able to contact the subject on the PA to find that he was OK except for an injured leg. Not long after, the 4 Cave Team members arrived at the command post, and were given the most urgent assignment to get into San Antonio Canyon and make contact with the victim.

Our Air Rescue ship was grounded due to fog, so we called LA Air Rescue 5 to see if they could hoist. They were also delayed by the fog, and in the meantime, the Cave team got to within visual and voice distance to the victim just as Air Rescue 5 came on scene to hoist the hiker. The Cave guys made one heck of a try to get to the victim and would have succeeded given another 15min.

After interviewing the subject's wife; a hiker who heard a voice across San Antonio Canyon at 2100 hrs; and another woman who had spoken to three hikers who had actually spoken with subject at the PLS we found that the subject and his wife hiked to the Hut at 1030 hrs and arrived approx. 1230 hrs. The subject wanted to go to Baldy Peakk, but his wife tried to talk him out of it. They had no previous experience. Three hikers told the subject where the trail was and he took off. At approximately 1530 hrs, the three hikers spoke with the subject on the Sierra Hut Trail above the switchbacks as the subject was descending. He didn't know where the trail was and asked them for assistance. Since they were ascending, they told him to wait for other hikers who were descending, and they could help him find his way.