Hiker, 19, Freezes to Death While Lost in Tehachapis
A Lomita man froze to death Sunday when he and a companion from Anaheim lost their way while walking through the snow in the Tehachapi Mountains and had to spend the night outdoors in subzero temperatures.
Allen James Bradford, 19, died of exposure, according to a Kern County sheriff’s spokesman. Bradford and Gregory Piers, 18, had driven to a parking lot on 8,831-foot Mt. Pinos, west of Frazier Park, and got out to hike through the snow at about 9 p.m. Saturday, said Sgt. Lanny Wilkinson.
After “wandering around,” they became disoriented and couldn’t find their way back to their pickup truck, Wilkinson said. “It’s very easy to become disoriented,” he said, “especially when you’re from the city. You don’t recognize landmarks and all the trees look the same.”
After futile attempts to return to the parking lot, the two men decided to spend the night where they were, Piers told Sheriff’s Department investigators. When Piers awoke Sunday morning after sleeping through temperatures that dipped to six degrees below zero, Bradford was dead, Wilkinson said.
Piers was treated at the scene for hypothermia and released.
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