Rescued by Helicopters After Ordeal in Snowstorm : Los Hikers Took Refuge in Tree Trunk

Two young men who took refuge from a blinding snow storm in a hollowed out tree trunk were rescued by helicopter Tuesday after a 48-hour ordeal in the rugged San Gabriel Mountains.

Robert Loer and Patrick Lindberg, both 19 and residents of Rancho Cucamonga, were listed in excellent condition at San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland where they were treated for minor injuries.

The two hikers, lost in Cucamonga Canyon in below-freezing temperatures and heavy snow, were plucked from the slopes by the crew of a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s helicopter who spotted them near their makeshift shelter.

More than 90 rescuers from Los Angeles and San Bernardino County search teams combed the canyon during daylight hours Monday and again Tuesday morning looking for Loer and Lindberg, who had become disoriented in heavy rain and snow Sunday morning, during a hiking and camping trip that began Friday.

Clothes, Gear Got Soaked

“I thought we’d never come out of there,” said Loer after the two were released from the hospital.

He and Lindberg explained that rain and snow that fell Sunday morning soaked them, their lightweight clothes and sleeping bags. When they decided to turn back down the canyon, they became lost and, shivering from the cold, climbed into the treetrunk.

They covered the opening in the trunk with their tent, providing themselves with partial shelter. They ripped up the pages of their mapbook of mountain trails to build a fire to keep warm.

The pair stayed put for 40 hours, rationing their food, until they heard the thump of three search helicopters crisscrossing the canyon. They then climbed out and were spotted.

By late Tuesday afternoon, the two Etiwanda High School graduates, class of 1985, were home, surrounded by relieved family members and girlfriends, and eating fresh-baked brownies made by Loer’s grandmother.

“I was very positive all along,” said Robert Loer’s father, Thomas Loer. “The only thing that bothered me was whether or not they would be found before this new storm (that hit Tuesday afternoon.)”

Theirs was not the only harrowing story of danger in the snow-covered mountains Tuesday. Earlier in the day, authorities reported finding the body of Ellis Middleton, 16, of Hesperia in the Apple Valley Highlands of the San Bernardino Mountains on Monday.

Sheriff’s deputies said Middleton was on a trip with friends on off-road bikes when the snow came Sunday. The cause of Middleton’s death was not immediately known, but it was believe to be storm-related.

Louis Sahagun reported from Upland and Michael Seiler from Los Angeles.