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Couple missing for two days
By Ray Hussey
A call was
received early Monday morning January 11th,
1999 regarding a San Clemente couple, Thomas
& Kristen Kidwell, overdue from a climb of
the North face of San Jacinto. The first report
was that the subjects had started the climb on
Friday, this eventually was found to be
incorrect. They actually started the climb at
noon Saturday. Thomas & Kristen were both
experienced hikers and climbers but since Thomas
was overdue at work on Monday the search was
started. Initially teams were deployed to search
the desert floor for the subjects vehicle, and a
hasty team was sent to search for tracks and cut
for sign along the plateau to approximately 3,500
feet where the East Fork of snow creek presents a
natural barrier. The State Park was notified and
asked to check the summit register and Interview
all hikers coming from the peak. Riverside
Sheriff's Office helicopter Star-80 was requested
and on deployment spotted a vehicle 3 mi. east of
snow creek road.
Desert Search
and Rescue (DSSAR) responded and radioed back the
license plate. This confirmed that the vehicle
spotted was in fact the subjects vehicle. A
RMRU team was sent up to the tram to walk the
North Face ridgeline checking for any movement
and/or distress signals. The RMRU hasty team
reported no recent disturbance or tracks at the
3,500 ft. level, which was very surprising since
this is the usual route of ascent. The search was
temporally suspended, at nightfall because of the
technical degree of difficulty with darkness and
danger to the searchers.
The Office of
Emergency Services (OES) was contacted and
additional helicopter support from San Bernardino
County arrived early the next day (Tuesday) along
with Mountaineer trained personnel from Sierra
Madre SAR [Search and Rescue] teams. DSSAR tracked
from the vehicle along the east ridge. Sierra
Madre, China Lake and RMRU teams were airlifted
to strategic locations on the North Face.
Mid-afternoon a flashing reflection/light was
seen by spotters at the 9000 ft level. Star-80
was dispatched with an RMRU technical-medic but
the flashing turned out to be the sun shinning
intermittently on a sheet of ice. Shortly
thereafter the DSSAR team found the two subjects
& hiking down the east ridge at the 4,000 ft
level. The subjects were airlifted to base by
Star-80 and rehydrated. When interviewed it was
determined that the subjects had avoided the
usual ascent route since they hadn't obtained the
proper permits. Their clothing was dark and they
didn't attempt to signal the sheriffs
helicopters. Their climb was terminated due to
time constraints and the degree of difficulty. A
very happy and relieved family warmly embraced
them at base camp.
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