Lost Hiker Airlifted from Trabuco Canyon

A distressed hiker in his late 20s was rescued uninjured in rugged terrain today in the Horsethief and Trabuco Canyon area.

A sheriff’s helicopter crew located the lost hiker but could not land in the rugged terrain, so a specially trained firefighter was lowered from a helicopter into Yaeger Mesa Trail in Horsethief Canyon and picked up the hiker and his belongings around 5:40 p.m., Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

“He had a computer, cellphone and some other personal belongings, and he was able to flag down the helicopter looking for him, luckily before it got too dark,” Concialdi said.

The hiker called for help about 4:40 p.m., according to Concialdi. It took him a while to make a connection with authorities, Concialdi said.

The hiker was planning a trip from Huntington Beach where his parents lived to Lake Elsinore where his grandparents lived, Concialdi said.

“It’s a long ways,” Concialdi said. He planned to go through the Cleveland National Forest to make the trip.

Trabuco Canyon was very cold, Concialdi said.

“He got hungry and tired and didn’t have enough clothes to keep warm,” Concialdi said.

• City News Service