Vivian Creek Trail, Forest Falls; San Bernardino, CA –On Saturday, February 29, Yucaipa Sheriff’s Station received a search and rescue call in Forest Falls. The caller reported her husband was hiking in the San Gorgonio wilderness and she was tracking him using a personal satellite tracker. She became concerned after her husband’s tracker stopped moving and she could no longer reach him. The last known location on the tracker placed him in steep terrain, several miles from any road at about the 9500’ elevation level.
Sheriff’s Aviation immediately responded and located the fatigued hiker, who had taken a short fall. Due to the high winds Aviation could not affect a hoist rescue. As weather conditions began deteriorating with rain and snow moving in, Sheriff’s San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team deployed a three-person volunteer search team that is certified in winter mountain rescue. At 8:35 PM the team started toward the hiker’s last known location and traversed the mountain throughout the night, finally reaching the hiker at approximately 6:00 AM. During the nine-hour hike, the team was forced to traverse several treacherous slopes using ice axes and crampons while facing single digit temperatures and wind chills approaching -20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Shortly after 6:00 AM, Sheriff’s Aviation again responded and after an aborted hoist rescue attempt, determined a hoist rescue would not be safe. San Gorgonio SAR members then opted to perform a ground rescue, bringing the hiker out on foot approximately 1.5 miles before reaching an area where a rescue UTV could get access to finalize the rescue and bring the hiker out.
