Deputies Find Body of Missing Hiker in Angeles National Forest

A Los Angeles County search and rescue team found the body of a missing Monterey Park hiker on Sunday in the Angeles National Forest, where he apparently fell to his death during a hike begun on Wednesday.

Deputies found the body, believed to be that of 67-year-old Theodore John, in Dark Canyon near Angeles Crest Highway just before 10 a.m., Deputy Benita Hinojos of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Sheriff’s detectives were called in Sunday to investigate the hiker’s death “just because it’s a death that isn’t clearly accidental, just to make certain” no foul play was involved, Hinojos said.

John’s family had called the Crescenta Valley sheriff’s station Saturday to report that they had found his truck parked on Angeles Crest Highway. Members of the Montrose sheriff’s station’s search and rescue team began searching the area on foot and by helicopter Saturday evening and continued into Sunday, Hinojos said.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office will determine the cause of John’s death, Hinojos said.