[symple_googlemap title=”Hikers Lost” location=”Eaton Canyon, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”13″]
Three teenaged girls who got lost and a 37-year-old woman who became overheated and passed out were rescued in the Eaton Canyon area of Angeles National Forest.
The sheriff’s Altadena Mountain Rescue Team responded about 11 a.m. Saturday after one of the three teen hikers used a cell phone to call a family member, who in turn called authorities, officials said.
The uninjured girls, two 16 and the other 17, were reached in about an hour and were then guided to safety, according to the sheriff’s department.
The teens, all from the El Monte area, lost track of a trail as they ascended about 1,000 feet through Eaton Canyon. They tried to hike down, but called for help when they came upon unstable footing.
The rescue team located them with the aid of a GPS-enabled smart phone carried by one of the girls, sheriff’s officials said.
As the teens were being hiked to safety, a feat that involved about 300 feet of rope, the rescue team was flagged down by the older woman, an Anaheim resident who became stricken while hiking in extreme heat that reached 100 degrees, according to the sheriff’s department.
The team assisted the woman, bringing to their vehicle and then driving her to the parking lot at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center.
She was treated by firefighters and taken to Arcadia Methodist Hospital, officials said.
“The final rescue team exited Eaton Canyon at 4 p.m.,” according to a sheriff’s department statement that warned would-be hikers to limit strenuous outdoor activity to early morning and late afternoon hours and bring plenty of water along.
— City News Service