Two Hikers Safe After Night in Forest

Two missing hikers sought by rescue teams and bloodhounds in the Cleveland National Forest walked to safety early Wednesday, cold and hungry but uninjured after their overnight ordeal.

Stefanie Barela, 24, and Alys Martinez, 25, emerged just after daybreak at the trail head in Holy Jim Canyon, where some searchers and media crews were waiting.

Appearing flustered and exhausted, the women said they spent the night huddled together against the night chill in a clearing just a mile from where they parked. They said they lost their way when it got too dark to see the trail.

“We were just cold and tired and frustrated, but we weren’t freaking out; we were calm,” said Martinez, of Long Beach.

The ordeal began Tuesday. The women said they went on a hike up the Holy Jim Canyon trail to help Barela, a Lakewood resident, train for an upcoming karate seminar. After hiking mostly uphill for several hours, they realized they had lost the path.

They decided to scale Santiago Peak in order to get reception on Barela’s cell phone. Once there, the phone still didn’t work.

The women, both somewhat experienced hikers, backtracked until they found the trail that led to their car. They figured they were only a mile from their car when it became too dark to see, so they decided to wait for sunrise.

“We weren’t really lost; it was just a time-management thing,” Martinez said.

The two were wearing only shorts and tank tops and were carrying only walking sticks.

Volunteer Orange County Sheriff’s Department search-and-rescue teams combed the hillsides throughout the night, using bloodhounds and vehicles with lights and sirens, sheriff’s officials said. A helicopter joined the search at daybreak.

The women said they heard barking dogs and saw flashing lights below but that it was too dark to find the trail to reach them.

“We feel bad so many people were looking for us,” Barela said.