SAN CLEMENTE
Two hikers bumped into search-and-rescue teams Tuesday afternoon on their way back down the treacherous San Jacinto Peak and learned they were the ones being sought. Tom Kidwell, 37, and his wife, Kristen, 28, of San Clemente were uninjured, just tired and hungry when they were found.
They had been expected home Sunday night. When they didn’t show up for work Monday or call in, a friend contacted officials. Riverside Mountain Rescue and the Riverside County Sheriff Department’s Desert Search and Rescue teams and two helicopters spent nearly 24 hours searching for them.
The couple told searchers they were advanced climbers but had miscalculated the time it would take to complete their climb up and down the difficult mountain.
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