Overview
- Authorities named Juan Sarat Lopez, 37, and Bayron Pedro Ramos Garcia, 36, both Guatemalan nationals living in Los Angeles, as two of the victims.
- The third victim is 19-year-old Marcus Alexander Muench Casanova of Seal Beach, who authorities say fell about 500 feet near the Devil's Backbone trail.
- Investigators believe Lopez and Garcia also fell from Devil's Backbone, were not hiking with Casanova, and died the day they were found.
- Deputies launched a Dec. 29 rescue after a report of an injured hiker; high winds prevented a helicopter hoist, an air medic later confirmed all three were deceased, and recoveries were completed Tuesday.
- Seven Mount Baldy trails, including Devil's Backbone, are closed through Jan. 7 while the U.S. Forest Service evaluates additional visitor-safety measures for hazardous winter conditions.