Stranded hiker spends 2 days on mountainside without food or water, CA rescuers say
A stranded hiker spent two days without food or water on a steep mountainside, California rescuers say.
The Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit got a call about a missing hiker “in the mountains above Corona” on Sunday, Jan. 26, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit said in an Instagram post.
“This hiker had been stuck in heavy brush on a steep mountain side for two days with no food or water,” rescuers said.
Rescuers said a patrol helicopter with the sheriff’s office initially searched the area using the GPS location the hiker gave dispatchers.
With “deteriorating weather,” the helicopter crew was forced to leave the area, rescuers said.
Volunteers with the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit made their way on foot, trekking “down very dangerous, wet and steep terrain,” rescuers said.
Several hours later, the volunteers found the hiker, according to a video shared by rescuers.
Just as the volunteers reached the hiker, the weather improved, allowing a helicopter crew to make its way to the area, rescuers said.
A video shared by rescuers shows the helicopter crew prepping to hoist the hiker from the densely vegetated area.
A rescuer is lowered and makes his way to the hiker and volunteers, the video shows.
“What’s up, buddy?” the rescuer asks the hiker. “How you feeling? You doing all right?”
The hiker nods.
When the rescuer asks the volunteer about the hiker’s condition, she says “he’s in a lot of pain” likely caused by “cramping from dehydration.”
“But no physical injuries, no breaks, no bruising, nothing like that,” the volunteer says, adding that he’s been alert and that they’ve given him food and water.
As the volunteer clears the hillside, pushing debris and soil aside, the hiker slowly slides down on his bottom, the video shows.
The rescuer preps the hiker to be hoisted from the area, placing a vest on him.
“All you’re going to do is go for the ride,” the rescuer says.
After the rescuer secures the hiker and himself to be hoisted, they are lifted from the area, the video shows.
The helicopter crew also hoisted the volunteers from the area, according to rescuers.
Corona is about a 50-mile drive southeast from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 9:58 AM with the headline "Stranded hiker spends 2 days on mountainside without food or water, CA rescuers say."
