During past two weeks, people have been getting lost in the Ventura County backcountry on a regular basis. At least 13 people have gotten lost or stranded and needed to be rescued at night by the Sheriff’s Department helicopter crew or the volunteer search and rescue teams.

Starting on Friday, November 12th, two men from the Modesto area became lost while riding their off-road motorcycles in the Hungry Valley area near Gorman. With the aid of the State Park Rangers and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department rescue helicopter the two men were found in the Los Padres National Forest huddled next to a campfire on the east side of Frazier Mountain near midnight and rescued.

Several days later when a strong storm moved into the county a man became lost near the Santa Barbara county line in the Los Padres National Forest while hiking near Divide Peak. He became disoriented in the clouds and fog that enveloped the mountaintop and was unable to find the trail to return to his vehicle. He wandered for several hours in the dark and rain until he was able to use his cellular phone to call for help.

Due to the cloud cover the Sheriff’s helicopter could not be flown so the search was conducted using the volunteer members of the Sheriff’s Department’s Upper Ojai SAR team. Hiking in the rain through mud the searchers located the lost hiker near midnight, cold and exhausted. He was escorted off the mountain by the team members and returned to his vehicle.

The following weekend a family of five, while hiking in Santa Paula canyon, became lost when the hike took longer than they anticipated. In the darkness they lost the trail and made a brief 911 call for help before the signal was lost. Again, the Sheriffs helicopter responded and was able to find the family. A crewmember was hoisted down and escorted them to safety.

A second storm developed this past weekend and stranded 3 rock climbers in the Santa Monica Mountains near the Los Angeles County line close to Echo Cliffs. A friend of the group telephoned the Sheriff’s Department at 1:00 a.m. and reported the group over due and missing. The Sheriff’s helicopter was dispatched and located the climbers stranded in an impassable ravine, lost, wet and cold. The helicopter was able to drop off a crewmember who hiked to the stranded climbers and escorted them back to the helicopter where they were hover loaded and flown back to their vehicle.

The next evening on Sunday, just after dark the department received yet another phone call from a lost couple in the Santa Monica Mountains near Sandstone Peak. They reported they were also lost and unable to see in the dark and requested assistance. The helicopter again responded and located the two people hiking with their dog not far from where the rock climbers had been rescued the previous night. Once again the helicopter was able to land and fly the couple back to their vehicle.

The helicopter was then requested for mutual aid by Kern County Sheriff’s Department to look for two overdue snow boarders on Mount Pinos. Their helicopter was grounded due to poor weather in the Bakersfield area. The temperatures on Mount Pinos were below freezing and the snow boarders were feared to be lost on the mountain with a limited amount of cold weather clothing. Fortunately, prior to launching our helicopter the pair was located unharmed by Kern County Search and Rescue.

The listed cases are a reminder of how quickly an outing in the backcountry can go wrong and require the activation of the counties dedicated search and rescue personnel. In order to avoid these potentially dangerous situations there are several tips to help minimize or avoid getting lost.

1. Be prepared to spend the night out if you are going hiking. Take a waterproof jacket, water, food and a flashlight or headlamp.
2. Take a map of the area and let someone know where you are going and when you intend to return.
3. Don’t over estimate your abilities to hike quickly or under estimate the difficulty of the terrain to traverse. It can take two to three times as long to hike a given distance in the mountains.
4. Get a reliable and up to date weather forecast for the area you will be hiking in. If the weather is bad, don’t go, or at least be prepared for cold or wet weather. Remember the weather in the local mountains is typically much more severe than along the coastline. Enjoy the outdoors, but be prepared.

Location: Ventura County backcountry

Date & Time: 11-12-2010 to 11-27-2010

Unit Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff Search and Rescue / Aviation Unit

Victims:
Edward Brian - 47 years – Modesto
Nicholas Quinn – 20 years – Merced
Quinton Schubmehl – 57 years – Santa Barbara
Teresa Sanchez – 35 years – Port Hueneme
Fernando Herrera –24 years – Port Hueneme
Juvenile -14 years- Port Hueneme
Juvenile – 13 years – Port Hueneme
Juvenile – 12 years – Port Hueneme
Rich Chen – 24 years – Los Angeles
Hugh Wong – 27 years – Santa Monica
Willy Wong – 31 years – Santa Monica
David Tighe – Unknown Age – Los Angeles
Christa Tighe – Unknown Age – Los Angeles

Officer Preparing Release: Sergeant Frank Underlin

Follow-up Contact: Sergeant Frank Underlin 388-4212

Date of Release: 11-29-2010

Approved By: Captain Dave Murray