The following was submitted by the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team:
During the month of April, Sierra Madre Search and Rescue (SMSR) responded to six calls for assistance.
Missing Hikers, Little Santa Anita Canyon: The Team was notified of a canyoneering party stuck in Little Santa Anita Canyon. Several SMSR members rappelled into the canyon and located the trapped canyoneers. The subjects were safely extracted from the canyon by an L.A. County Fire Department helicopter. SMSR personnel retrieved the subjects’ belongings and ascended their ropes out of the canyon.
Missing Hiker, Anza-Borrego State Park: Sierra Madre Search and Rescue was requested as part of a mutual-aid operation in the search for a missing hiker in Anza-Borrego State Park. The Team sent crews to Anza-Borrego throughout the week- long operation for ground and technical assignments in and around the area’s caves. Despite an extensive search by dozens of personnel from the area’s search and rescue teams, the subject remains missing.
Critical Missing, Big Santa Anita Canyon: SMSR was notified of a critical missing person possibly located in Big Santa Anita Canyon. Crews were dispatched and the subject was located deceased.
At this year’s annual LASD Temple Station Volunteer Awards Banquet, SMSR team member Tommy Ingulfsen was named Search and Rescue Volunteer of the Year. A native of Norway, Ingulfsen joined the Team in 2008 and heads the Medical Committee.
For 60 years the all-volunteer Sierra Madre Search and Rescue team has been responding to calls for help in the local mountains and beyond. Funded entirely by private donations, SMSR provides a range of public programs on wilderness safety in addition to its search and rescue activities. The team never charges for any of its services.
For more information, including how to arrange a wilderness safety demonstration for your school or group, visit www.smsr.org.
