Injured Hiker on Bear Canyon Trail
May 5, 2025
Bear Canyon Trail, Ortega Highway, CA
Mission 2025-016
Written by: Richard Yocum
While our mission for lost hikers was still ongoing on near San Jacinto Mountain, we received another callout, at 12:13 am on 5/5/2025. This was for an overdue hiker last seen on the Bear Canyon Trail, off Ortega Highway near to the Riverside-Orange Counties line. He had fallen behind the 3 other hikers in his group and later texted them that his ankle was hurting and his leg cramping. Their group regularly does a 10-15 mile hikes almost every week, but this weekend had set out on a 20-mile loop hike.
Because so many RMRU members were on San Jacinto for the other mission, RMRU requested assistance from Orange County. When I arrived on scene later that morning after making the drive from San Diego, I found that Orange County SAR had set up a command post and already had 3 hasty teams up on the trails. Prior to that, several deputies had hiked partway up the trail. I was fully briefed by SAR Reserve Captain Devon Kemp and the two of us agreed to continue to manage the mission under Unified Command. I re-interviewed the other 3 hikers still at the trailhead. We used their information along with a photo they took of the missing hiker and analysis of a cell phone ping to guide our search strategy. Devon was already working his teams to achieve containment of our missing hiker since there were multiple trails, including the 4-way intersection at Four Corners along the trail.
We were able to deploy two more teams as additional Orange Co. SAR members arrived. RSO Aviation attempted to reach the search area but had to turn back due to low-lying cloud cover. Attempts to obtain additional cell phone data were not successful.
At about 1:30 pm a hasty team heading down the trail overtook our missing hiker. We learned that as it was getting dark the night before, he decided it was too dangerous to continue without a light source, especially with his injured ankle and cramping. His cell phone battery was depleted. He built a small shelter along the trail and slept from about 8 pm until 5:30 am. After he awoke, he resumed hiking but headed in the wrong direction, up a trail from Four Corners. While our hasty teams were covering various trails at the same time he was on the move, we deduced that our teams were “missing” him as he took the wrong trail.
Fortunately, he was doing well except for feeling cold, hungry, and tired. SAR provided him with dry clothing, hydration, and calories. Another attempt to get Aviation to the scene for a hoist evacuation was again unsuccessful, so the ground teams performed an assisted walkout back to the trailhead, about 2.5 miles. He was medically evaluated by AMR and released to his friends.
Meanwhile, RMRU member Jeff arrived at the Command Post and was waiting to be paired with another SAR member at the time the subject was found. Tobias was enroute and I called him to turn around.
RMRU extends its appreciation to Orange County SAR for helping us out while we were lacking resources due to the other ongoing mission.
This mission serves as a reminder of several important messages. It is almost always easier to find a missing hiker if they stay put in one place, especially if we have a good idea of where they are. It is much harder to find a moving target! Also, hikers are reminded that even if they are planning only a day-hike or shorter, it is always good practice to bring a light source, extra batteries, a cell phone charger, and extra clothing, water, and food – plan for the unexpected!
RMRU Members Involved: (Jeff Leisner, Tobias Moyneur, and Richard Yocum)
Other Agencies Involved: (Riverside County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), deputies, and Aviation Rescue 9 helicopter, and Orange County search and rescue team and sheriff’s deputies)