IRVINE : Woman, 64, Rescued in Deep Ravine

A 64-year-old woman slid 150 feet down into a ravine north of Irvine and languished there for 18 hours before she was rescued Tuesday by helicopter.

Jacqueline Antisdel, who suffered only minor injuries, told rescuers that she had grown frustrated with traffic on the Santa Ana Freeway on Monday afternoon and tried to find a shortcut to her Riverside home by driving north on Culver Drive. The street ends at the gated entrance to agricultural land belonging to the Irvine Co.

“She continued on the dirt road until she realized there were two mountain ranges between her and Riverside,” said Capt. Dan Young of the Orange County Fire Department. The latched gate “didn’t seem to slow her down.”

After driving 4 miles beyond the gate, Antisdel tried to turn around, but her car became stuck in soft dirt about 25 feet off the road. After leaving the car, she slipped down into the ravine.

Every time she tried to climb back up the steep slope, Antisdel told rescuers, she would slip on the loose dirt and brush. Her 1982 Honda Accord was not found until about 8 a.m., when a farm worker drove by.

“I heard a little voice looking for help,” Ramon Serrano said. He called authorities.

Antisdel had cuts and bruises on her face and arms and complained of being thirsty, a rescuer said. She was treated for scrapes and exposure at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana and released.

The Riverside resident declined to be interviewed about her ordeal.

Antisdel was returning home from her daughter’s graduation ceremony in Garden Grove when she drove up into the hills, Young said.

Because of the loose dirt and brush on the hillside, rescuers decided that it would be safer to bring her out by helicopter and called on Marine Corps officials at El Toro. Paramedics helped her onto the copter’s transport basket at about 9:45 a.m.

Firefighters also secured Antisdel’s car to a nearby tree with chains so that it would not slide down on top of her.

Sheriff’s Department investigators said the loose dirt may have saved Antisdel’s life by miring her car. “If it had been hard dirt, her car would have rolled off (possibly on top of her),” Sgt. Larry Jones said.

Young said it was considered strange that Antisdel ended up in the canyons while trying to go to Riverside from Garden Grove, but that her frustration with traffic might have marred her judgment.

“That, her age and her thick glasses added to it,” he said, indicating that her vision may have been impaired.