Two did not return from short hike
By Rob Gardner
The weather
was mild as a small group of RMRU volunteers
began to gather at Lawler's Lodge. A Riverside
Sheriff's Office (RSO) deputy explained that
three adults had picnicked at Lawler's Camp
earlier in the day. He said that after the three
people ate, two had gone for a short day hike,
and failed to return. The third person reported
the incident to the RSO, who then called out
RMRU.
With Walt
Walker at base camp as Ops Leader and Mary Bowman
at the radio van, searchers hiked to the Point
Last Seen (PLS). Tracking the subjects was
complicated by the numerous amount of people that
had left tracks in the area earlier in the day.
Also, the darkness of the night and the ground
covering made tracking difficult.
The searchers
split into two groups. Mel Krug and Kathy Davis
proceeded to search the area surrounding the PLS
gradually enlarging the area of search. Steve
Bryant and Rob Gardner proceeded down the main
drainage, which is a general area of interest to
many day hikers. Footprints and litter were
obvious as Steve and Rob continued down the
drainage, calling out to the subjects in the
dark, shining flashlights into the shrubs, and
looking for any evidence of the overdue couple.
The shouting
out paid off when the couple suddenly called back
from the darkness. They were quickly reached and
found to be in good condition. They had curled up
under some trees and covered themselves with
leaves and pine needles, to keep warmer.
The two said
they had lost track of the time and their
location as they hiked earlier in the day. They
did not have any idea of the direction of their
picnic site. They stopped as it got dark and
remained where they were. They had fallen asleep,
and were awakened by Steve and Rob shouting out.
The lady was particularly tired but both people
made the hike back up the drainage, with the
assistance of the RMRU. Mel and Kathy hiked over
to assist and a bit later Glenn Henderson and
Kevin Walker arrived to assist.
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