Search for a possible body
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April 17, 1987 |
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By Jim Fairchild
A red-checkered shirt and some hair, at the bottom of a one-hundred foot high cliff, just south of the junction of Strawberry Cienega Trail, with tracks in the snow leading to the very edge of the cliff, was the description that was the start of the mission. A hiker that had camped near the junction on April 15 reported that he had seen the tracks at about dusk. He and a friend hiked back to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway on the 16th, and then reported the observations to the Sheriff's Office. Kevin Walker of RMRU was contacted and he conducted a thorough interrogation of the informant.
That
evening a pager call went out for RMRU to meet at
Humber Park above Idyllwild at 7:00 a.m. Shortly
after that hour we (Henry Negrete, Ronnie
Pierson, Eric Townsend, Brian Silison, Jay Pion,
Kevin Walker, Larry Carter, Bernie McIlvoy, and
writer) trudged up the 2600' elevation gain to
search the area, while others worked at base
camp. 
We encountered snow
covering varying depths and varying hardness.
Information came to us over the radio that the
State Park Ranger reported that an unusual fellow
in a red-checkered shirt got a permit earlier,
and the Sheriff said the man's car was still at
Humber Park. Aha! No problem, we'd find him and
lug him out, early this afternoon.
Upon reaching the trail junction and ridgeline we spread out and checked very carefully all high boulders, bluffs, and cliffs. A radio message then came to say the red-checkered shirt owner came out and drove away. Well, we had a nice hike, explored a nice area, and finished with a nice Mexican food dinner in Idyllwild.