Overview
- Search teams responded around 11:30 a.m. Monday after reports that a 19-year-old fell about 500 feet near the Devil's Backbone trail.
- A companion hiked to reach cell service and provided GPS coordinates, allowing rescuers to target the location for ground and aerial teams.
- Helicopters located the teen and two other individuals, but severe Santa Ana winds made a hoist operation unsafe throughout the day.
- At about 7:30 p.m., an air medic was lowered from a Los Angeles County aircraft and confirmed all three people were deceased.
- Recovery efforts continued Tuesday; officials said the other two hikers were from a separate group, and identities and causes of death have not been released.