Missing hikers found alive in Altadena foothills
By Alfred Lee, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/13/2009 06:34:54 PM PDT
ALTADENA - A roughly 12-hour search for two missing hikers in Eaton Canyon ended happily Monday afternoon with a rescue helicopter spotting both men "healthy and happy" on a cliff, waving shiny medallions and a blanket to get the attention of rescuers.
The two Los Angeles men, Leonardo Madera, 27, and Jesus Acosta, 28, were transported to Huntington Hospital, but both appeared to be healthy and in good spirits, authorities said.
The men were reported missing Sunday at 11 p.m. after splitting from their companions during a Sunday afternoon hike in the hills above Altadena, officials said. They agreed to meet friends at a waterfall, but didn't show up for several hours.
"They probably missed the mark by about a quarter of a mile," said Dep. Gregory Gabriel, reserve coordinator at the Altadena Sheriff's station. "They took a different route and wound up heading around it ... but they had the smarts to stay where they were."
The two split off from the other three hikers around 1:30 p.m. Sunday when they reached a route dubbed Acrophobia Ridge. Friends said Acosta, who has cerebral palsy, found it difficult to get across.
"We got up the ridge and there was a point in the hike where Jesus didn't feel like his footing was right," said Farrah Rivera, 26, Acosta's girlfriend and one of the other hikers. "We kept saying, `You can do it, you can do it,' but Leo just said he was going to take him up the other way, which they thought was safer."
Acosta and Madera said they would attempt an easier route. When they didn't show up at the waterfall meeting place, or at the parking lot seven hours later, friends decided to check if the two had got back home.
After returning to the hiking route and doing their own search, the friends decided to call rescue services Sunday night.
Rescue teams from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department and volunteer teams from Altadena, Sierra Madre and Montrose took part in the search. A crew of 11 searched until 5 a.m. Monday morning, and the search began again at 7 a.m., with a pair of rescue helicopters aiding the effort.
Officials said the two men had enough water to last more than a day, and enough food for up to three days.
Shortly after noon on Monday, a rescue helicopter spotted the two men waving from a cliff just west of the waterfall where they had originally agreed to meet their friends.
The men were waving reflective medallions and a blue blanket, Gabriel said. At about 12:50 p.m., the helicopter picked them up and flew them to Huntington Hospital.
Rescuers had not planned another night search, thinking that the pair may have found their way out and not yet contacted their friends.
"I'm just thrilled," said Fernando Lodevico, 28, another one of the other hikers, who went up in a helicopter with rescuers to point out their route. "It's good to know they're alive and well."
As of 4:30 p.m. Monday, the two were still in the emergency room at Huntington, where they were being given blood tests and other examinations, according to Lodevico. The two only suffered from "minor scratches and bruises," he said.
alfred.lee@sgvn.com
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