Search Continues in Joshua Tree for Missing Teen Hiker
Searchers continued to scour Joshua Tree National Park on Monday for a 17-year-old hiker who was reported missing from a high desert campground Thursday, authorities said.
The search for Eric Sears of Oceanside has involved hundreds of San Bernardino and Riverside county volunteers and rescue workers, one of whom was killed as he drove to the search site Saturday.
A friend who was camping with Sears told authorities that he last saw his friend at Jumbo Rocks Campground.
Search teams began crisscrossing the rugged parklands Thursday night and have worked through the days in triple-digit heat.
Scott Johnston, 30, of Redlands, who worked for San Bernardino County as a member of the San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team, was killed as he and four other team members were driving to the national park.
The Sheriff’s Department SUV they were riding in was struck head-on by a pickup truck on California 62 in Morongo Valley.
The driver of the pickup, Joseph Tidwell, 35, of Twentynine Palms, was ordered held without bail on suspicion of murder and drunk driving, authorities said.
Two rescue workers remained in critical condition Monday, said Cindy Beavers, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department.
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