Rescue Team Tracks Down Missing Hiker

A 34-year-old Orange man admitted Monday that he bit off more than he could chew when he went hiking alone in an area near Trabuco Canyon.

Chauncey Cupkie spent an uneventful night in Holy Jim Canyon when he grew too tired to hike out before dark.

“I knew exactly where I was,” Cupkie said from his home Monday. “I just ran out of energy to get out. . . . I put a lot of people through a lot of trouble, but I’m OK.”

Cupkie’s mother had called the Orange County Sheriff’s Department shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday to report that her son might be lost in the canyon. Deputies began a ground search soon after, and Cupkie was found unharmed about 7:35 a.m., walking along a brush-covered trail.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Richard Olson said that settling in for the night was the best move Cupkie could have made.

“Most of your experienced hikers will tell you that when darkness comes, the smartest thing to do is find a place, get comfortable and wait for daylight,” Olson said. “A lot of people get injured after dark when they panic and try to get out. I suspect that’s what happened to our last victim out there. It was dark and he fell over a cliff.”

Cupkie, who said he took up hiking a few years ago, left a map of his planned route with his mother before he left, making finding him much easier for sheriff’s deputies, Olson said.

“We were able to go right to where his vehicle was,” Olson said. “If he hadn’t left a map, it could have taken hours to locate him out there.”

Olson said that by 3:50 Monday morning, at least two bloodhounds and seven search and rescue team members were looking for Cupkie.