Officials Searching for Missing Man
Three Ventura County Sheriff’s Department search and rescue teams are looking for a missing Upland man whose car was found in the mountains of northeastern Ventura County over the Christmas holiday.
Authorities said Michael Chein, 23, was reported missing to the Upland Police Department on Dec. 19.
“We located the car a couple days ago and initiated the search,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Lawrence Kelley. He said Chein’s vehicle was found about five miles from the Smokey Bear Road offramp of the Golden State Freeway, on the Ventura County side of the Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area.
Crews have begun combing Hungry Valley, a playground for off-road vehicles straddling the Los Angeles County line north of Pyramid Lake. They are also scanning the area with helicopters, Kelley said.
However, searchers may soon be grounded by this weekend’s approaching storm.
“Some of our efforts are being limited by the weather conditions right now,” he said.
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