Cima Evidence Search

The Search for a "Missing" Equestrian

The evening of Saturday, July 13, I received the call to assist in the search for a missing woman riding a horse in the Deep Creek area of Apple Valley/Victorville. Wrightwood SAR was working the search through the night, and they needed relief for managing the search the following day. We arrived Sunday morning to find the night shift in an organized command post, tired, a bit frustrated, and ready for a break. Also, we found a stack of plans written, and waiting for personnel assignments. HOORAY! All of you search managers out there take note. If your event is planned for an additional operational period, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE write plans for the next OP. Don't leave this to the relief management team. If plans are not written ahead of time, it delays getting teams into the field. Begin planning the next OP sooner rather than later. Once teams are deployed, it is time to begin assessing your deficiencies and thinking about the next OP.

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In our initial briefing, the source of much of the previous shift's frustration became quite apparent. They had a few "confirmed" sightings of the missing person in wildly different locations. This required them to devote limited resources all over the place. Compound this with the fact that the missing person was riding a horse, conflicting, and delayed, information from the reporting parties, and you have a search area half the size of Orange County.

During operational period 1, search managers were confident in their containment of the area north of the initial planning point with the exception of a couple of areas, so for operational period 2, our goals were to contain the PCT east and west from that location, search the remaining areas north of the IPP, and cover additional areas with sufficient POA. At our disposal were OHV, ground, technical, mounted, canine, and air resources

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SAR Teams Locate Missing Hiker Near Nevada Border

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On February 15, 2013, at approximately 4:46 p.m., Deputies from the Colorado River Station responded to Caruthers Canyon in the Mohave National Preserve, reference a missing hiker. 

Search efforts immediately begin in the area of New York Mountain Peak, which is located on the northwest side of Caruthers Canyon. Due to conditions and terrain, the search was suspended at midnight and resumed at first light on February 16, 2013. 

Members of the Colorado River Station Search and Rescue, with the assistance of Barstow Search and Rescue and National Park Service Rangers, continued to search the rugged terrain of New York Mountain Peak. 

On Saturday, February 16th, at approximately 10:24 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department Aviation Division located the body of missing hiker, Darrick Rollin Danta, near the summit of New York Mountain, at approximately 6800 feet. Sheriff’s aviation transported members of the Colorado River Station to the scene, where Danta’s body was recovered.

The cause of death is under investigation however, foul play does not appear to be a factor.

The full text of the announcement is available here.

Rescue on San G

WOW!!!!! This hike had all the makings of a made for TV movie. We had action, adventure, drama and even a reunion scene that would have made a grown man cry. You name it and it was there.

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The hike started out innocently enough; we met at the Mill Creek Ranger Station at 5:30 a.m so we could get an early start to the trailhead for Fish Creek. We left the ranger station at 5:42 a.m and after a brief stop at the restrooms at the South Fork Trailhead on Jenks Lake Rd we arrived at the Fish Creek trailhead at 7:00 a.m. The drawback to getting an early start is the restrooms at the ranger station aren’t open and there aren’t any restrooms at the trailhead, something to keep in mind if anyone who reads this needs it for future reference. To get to the trailhead you take highway 38 from the ranger station approximately 24 miles to the turnoff for Heart Bar Campground which is on road 1N02. Once you get past the campground it requires a 7 mile drive on dirt road 1N05 to get to the trailhead. There were quite a few cars in the parking area when we got there so apparently a lot of other folks had the same idea. It was a beautiful day and not a cloud in the sky. The sun was shining brightly and it was a cool 60 degrees. We hit the trail at 7:15 a.m. The elevation at the trailhead is 8061’.

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Skier Found Near Mt. San Jacinto

Riverside County requested assistance with the search for a missing skier on Mt. San Jacinto on February 21. This call came right on the back of a call to the Baldy area for a missing hiker, and is the typical pattern whenever there is a signficant storm. A similar scenario occured early in January when there were back-to-back and simultaneous searches for a snowboarder on Baldy, hikers in Lake Elsinore, and a hiker on San Jacinto.

Members of SB Mountain SAR, the Cave Team, and Rim SAR responded and were assigned to search likely areas near the summit and Round Valley. The skier was eventually located in the Willow Creek drainage area by members of Sierra Madre SAR and the China Lake Mountain Rescue Group. A unique aspect of this search was the request for backcountry skiers. The conditions were optimized for significant "postholing", so travelling by skis was more efficient.

Riverside County press release

News article

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The Search for Michelle Yu

Michelle Yu was in the midst of preparing for a climb of Aconcagua in Argentina. As such, she was a weekly hiker of Mt. Baldy, and had recently completed a number of 14,000 ft peaks. She set out on Saturday, December 4 for a training hike, and was spotted near the Sierra Hut and near the summit by fellow hikers. She did not return on Saturday night, and was reported missing by a housemate on the afternoon, of Sunday, December 5.

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West Valley SAR was called, and with the weather worstening, the call for additional alpine resources was made. The first night, 4 teams were fielded composed of members of West Valley SAR and the Cave Team. There was no information as to the route of Ms. Yu, but her car was found on the Falls Rd. Teams were deployed into Goode Canyon, San Antonio Canyon, The Sierra Hut Trail, and the Devil's Backbone. Travel was very slow as the winds were high and rain severe. At the higher elevations there was snow falling, and ice everywhere. Eventually safe travel was no longer possible, so the teams in Goode Canyon and the Devil's Backbone were recalled. The team in San Antonio Canyon had arrived at the Hut and were beginning to warm up with plans to continue in the morning. The rock fall hazard in the canyon was tremendous with all of the flowing water. There were reports of very large boulders making their way down the canyon.

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Two Missions on Baldy

West Valley SAR received a call Friday night for some overdue hikers in the Baldy area whose family said that they were going to "walk the creek". The missing 21 and 13 year old were to return at dark, and when they failed to show, their family notified authorities. Sheriff's Aviation was also on scene and was successful in locating the missing hikers in Stead Canyon. Throughout the night, a ground team attempted to locate the hikers, but due to the brush, and lack of response to their shouts and whistles, the searchers were not able to establish contact. At first light, Sheriff's Aviation launched a rescue ship which was successful in hoisting the two hikers and their dogs. After a chilly night, and a short helicopter ride, the two hikers were released to their family.

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Just as the air crew was gathering their gear, Baldy Fire caught a call for an unconscious hiker on the hut trail. The report said that by-standers were administering CPR, and that the patient was not responsive. Members of Baldy Fire, San Bernardino County Fire, and AMR made their way up the trail, while members of the Cave Rescue Team and San Bernardino Mountain Rescue Team quickly joined them after gathering a litter, litter wheel, backboard, and oxygen bottle. 
Rescuers continued CPR and employed an AED, but the collapsed hiker never regained a heartbeat. Sheriff's Aviation returned to the Baldy area after fueling, and lowered a medic and litter. One member of San Bernardino Mountain Rescue Team and one Baldy Fire crew member walked the deceased hiker's girlfriend down the trail, while the remaining SAR members and fire crew packaged the hiker, and assisted in the hoist.

Lushevskiy Search 2010

Updated on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 0:25 by Jeff Lehman

Evgeniy "Eugene" Lushevskiy is an immigrant from Uzbekistan who came to the United States in 1998.

Eugene, 19 years old at the time, was last seen on Sunday October 31, 2004 when he left to go hiking somewhere in the foothills or mountains north of Claremont. A storm front with an unseasonably early snowfall came in that night. He was reported missing to Claremont PD on Tuesday November 2, 2004.   
On Friday November 5, 2004 evidence was discovered that Eugene was dropped off in Mt. Baldy, at the Sierra Hut Trailhead, on the night of October 31st to begin a hike to the summit of Mt. Baldy. The Chino Hills Sheriff’s Station initiated a Search and Rescue mission based upon this information. West Valley Search and Rescue (WVSAR) began a hasty search of the mountain trails that night. The search quickly expanded to a county-wide and then state-wide call for alpine-qualified searchers.

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SAR Mission Near Fairview Valley

On Saturday October 9, 2010 the Victor Valley SAR team conducted their annual 24 hr. training, which, this year, was directed at BSAR Skills certification.The team met at a campsite in the Stoddard Valley area, located north of Apple Valley between HWY 15 and HWY 247. The day started with the unit meeting followed by members transitioning from one test area to another. During the lunch break a few of us were discussing past overnights and how we seem to always end up in a "for real" situation.

The testing was completed by 1700 and dinner was completed by 1900. A night ATV certification ride was started at about 2000, traveling from the campsite to Slash X Ranch following Stoddard Valley Road and Powerline Road (about 16 miles). An emergency communication (2130) from our Commander indicated than Reserve/SAR Jim Andrews had monitored a dispatch that indicated that there was a missing (4 hours) female motorcycle rider in the Fairview Valley area and that deputies were being sent. He immediately called dispatch and requested that the Watch Commander contact him concerning the missing person. After a brief discussion (we were already in night search mode), a hasty team consisting of members that were in camp (BSAR staff, ground members, and additional ATV riders) proceeded to the search area (approx 2230) and the ATV team was recalled to refuel and get an update.

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Search for a Missing Skydiver

This was a new one for me. I have been on countless searches in my years in SAR, but I have never searched for somebody who may have fallen from the sky. Vladimir Frolov, a visitor from Russia,  was reported missing by the Perris Skydiving Center when his car was discovered in the parking lot at closing time. Nobody has seen him since he registered for a solo jump on Saturday, September 25. A mutual aid request was made by Riverside County to assist in the search of a nearby field. Members of the Cave and Technical Rescue Team, Rim SAR, SB Mountain SAR, and West Valley SAR participated in the search accompanied by Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, Riverside Desert SAR, San Diego Mountain Rescue Team, and a number of Riverside County mounted folks.

Normally if we encounter heavy brush on a search we look for signs that somebody had entered the thicket. The tell-tale footprint, or broken limbs are indicators of such activity. What happens when the person enters the thicket from the sky? There is no peripheral evidence in such cases, and every thicket must be searched regardless of what things look like from the outside. Tracking? Forget it. None of the usual tools apply in such cases. Once a likely area is determined, about the only thing that works is a grid search. In the heavy brush, the searchers need to be at arms length to get any reasonable POD. As you know, this is painstaking work.

The search managers assigned us to teams of 4 or so, but we actually searched as part of a large team made up of 3 or 4 of these 4-person teams. I thought this was an efficient way to do such things. That way, if you needed to send a group of searchers to another area, or give them a different task, you already had the sub-groups determined. I'll keep that in mind for the next time. Below is my track for the day. It is amazing how little foliage is shown from the aerial image.

Riverside County press release on the missing skydiver, Vladimir Frolov

Update on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 19:20 by Jeff Lehman

Farmer finds human remains southeast of Perris Valley Airport. Authorities suspect that this is the missing skydiver, Vladimir Forlov.

Read the Press-Enterprise article.

Below is the approximate area as described in the Press-Enterprise article.

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