Hikers Rescued After Night in Forest

Two missing Canyon Country hikers who endured freezing temperatures overnight in Angeles National Forest were found Monday morning when a sheriff’s deputy made a call to one of their cell phones.

Julie Posthumus and Priscilla Herman spent the night in a mud-bogged pickup truck with two dogs, warming themselves with the vehicle’s heater, according to officials at the county sheriff’s Santa Clarita Valley station. The women had gone up a partially paved trail 20 miles from the city into a remote area called Messenger Flats to “play in the snow” on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Notified that the women had not returned home when expected, the Santa Clarita Valley Search and Rescue Team searched near the trail. Shortly after 7 a.m. Monday, a deputy called the cell phone number.

“It is not a common occurrence for the phone to work for most people because it’s so far out,” said Sgt. Debra Miller. “In most cases, we just have a family member telling us where they think the missing person was supposed to be. Here, we had the phone and the silver truck helping.”

The women had reportedly tried to use their phones the night before but could not get through. After they were found, a sheriff’s helicopter airlifted them to safety.