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Missing Hunter Found ‘Hungry but Unharmed’

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A 25-year-old hunter missing since he was separated from a friend Saturday in the Santa Ana Mountains was found about 7:30 a.m. Sunday by a search and rescue crew, sheriff’s officials said.

Jacob Kullakoff was “a little hungry but unharmed” when rescue teams found him in the area of Bear Springs, several miles from Santiago Peak, where he was supposed to meet his hunting partner about 6 p.m. Saturday, Lt. Rick Paddock said.

When Kullakoff didn’t show up by 9 p.m., his friend called the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for help.

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Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department joined the overnight search, sending helicopters and hikers to scour the area, Paddock said.

Shortly before 7:30 a.m. Sunday, as the rescue team was about to deploy another helicopter, the departments were notified Kullakoff had been found.

Santiago Peak is the highest point in Orange County.

Paddock said Kullakoff, an avid outdoorsman, was familiar with the area.

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