Overview
- Deputies launched a search 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, directing sheriff’s search-and-rescue teams and a Los Angeles County Fire helicopter to the site.
- An aerial crew located the injured hiker and two others in steep, snowy terrain, but strong winds made a hoist operation unsafe.
- Around 7:30 p.m., a medic lowered from a helicopter confirmed all three were deceased after repeated attempts to assess a hoist.
- Authorities said recovery efforts are underway and the hikers’ identities and causes of death have not been released.