Hiker, 55, Survives Overnight Ordeal in Santa Anas

A 55-year-old hiker missing overnight in the Cleveland National Forest walked out Sunday morning cold and wet but uninjured.

Bill Cunningham of Mission Viejo said he had planned to hike about six hours Saturday morning but got lost in the snow falling in the highest parts of the Santa Ana Mountains.

“My goal was to reach Santiago Peak and come back,” Cunningham said from his home Sunday. He reached the peak, but during his descent “it was snowing heavily and I couldn’t see . . . and I missed a turnoff point.”

Cunningham’s family reported him missing Saturday evening. A search and rescue team was sent up the trails near Modjeska Canyon Road, where Cunningham had last been seen. The team combed the area early Sunday without finding him. Then Cunningham called his family about 9 a.m.

Cunningham, an avid hiker, said he spent the night under a bush trying to stay warm with an emergency thermal blanket, but it kept ripping.

“It was just too thin,” he said. By morning, “I had one little piece wrapped around my head. . . . I could see it was so cloudy. I was afraid it was going to rain again, and I knew I couldn’t last another night.”

Cunningham said he eventually found a trail and then saw a hiker, who drove him to a gas station in Orange.

“My first goal was to let my wife know I was safe,” he said. His wife, Laura, then called authorities, who called off the search.

Cunningham, an editor with the Orange County Register, was then driven by authorities to the Modjeska Canyon fire station, where he was reunited with his relieved wife.