Six Hikers Rescued on Mountain

After watching a storm worsen beyond their expectations--halting their hiking trip in the Angeles National Forest--six Orange County hikers were rescued from the snow and sleet Tuesday as they sat beside a raging river too treacherous to cross. None of the hikers was injured, but they suffered through a night of cold with damp camping gear. They knew help was coming, though, because they had used flashlights to signal deputies searching by helicopter Monday night. That search was called off until morning because of darkness.

“We pretty much knew where they were,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Walker of the Walnut substation. “They couldn’t get across the river. We saw their flashlights . . . and the rescuers got to them.”

The hikers were expected to return from their trip Monday evening; rescuers searched for them when a worried friend called authorities about 9 p.m. to report them missing.

Deputies used a helicopter early Tuesday to hoist the hikers aboard using harnesses.

The hikers, who describe themselves as novice explorers, left Orange County on Saturday. On their way into the mountains--where they intended to pan for gold said to be embedded in the hillsides--they followed a trail that crisscrossed East Fork River 20 times.

“We had a blast. We found gold. We found several gold nuggets,” said 41-year-old Anita Hallock of Costa Mesa, one of the hikers and a Girl Scout leader. Then the weekend storm hit, and the rain and snow turned East Fork river into “white water,” Hallock said. “It was impossible to cross. If we tried to, one of us would have gone under for sure.”

The hikers had left detailed instructions on where they were going. A friend of Hallock’s called a relative in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department, who called rescuers. A crew from the San Dimas Mountain Search and Rescue team began the search about 10:30 p.m. Monday and was helped early Tuesday by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies.

The hikers decided to remain at their campsite after one hiker tried to “make the first crossing [of the river]. We walked out in waders to see how bad it was,” said Michael Hallock, Anita’s husband and a construction worker. “It was like rapids,” he said.