Mutual Aid of Lost Hiker
January 31, 2026
Josephine Peak, Los Angeles National Forest
2026-003
Written by: Dave Kosmal
RMRU received a call to assist the Montrose Search and Rescue Team looking for a lost hiker on the Josephine Truck Trail in Angeles National Forest. The hiker had separated from her party and had not returned during the day. Throughout the night local SAR teams searched the canyons adjacent to the truck trail and heard intermittent calls for help but did not locate the subject.
RMRU team members arrived around 10am and were assigned three search areas in the canyons and ridgelines south of Josephine Peak. After several hours, an RMRU team made verbal contact with the subject after performing a callout. Her voice was coming from an adjacent canyon, but the team could not see her or pinpoint her location. The subject reported that she was not injured except for a headache.
Searchers continued to move toward the location of the subject, and she was found about an hour later by an RMRU team. The subject was airlifted out by a LA County Fire helicopter.
RMRU Members Involved: (Trygve Anderson, Kase Chong, Alex Cochran, Nathaniel Desforges, Andy Hayt, Dave Kosmal, and Solan Watts)
Other Agencies Involved: (Montrose Search and Rescue Team, Altadena Mountain Rescue Team, Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team, San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team, Antelope Valley Search and Rescue, Orange County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue,
Ventura County East Valley Search and Rescue Team, and Los Angeles County Fire Department)