Charred remains, two bodies in forest: Maybe missing campers couldn’t outrun giant fire

The charred remains of two people whose bodies were found atop a hill in a recently burned area of Angeles National Forest near Azusa were hoisted from the scene Friday, a day after a man found them while searching for his missing brother and cousin.

It has not been confirmed that the bodies are those of Jonathan Pardo, 16, and his 31-year-old cousin, Carlos Perez. The two went missing after setting out on a hike just hours before the Reservoir Fire broke out on June 20, according to Jonathan’s older brother, Ricardo, who said he and family members made the grisly find.

Firefighters were called about 2:20 p.m. Thursday to a scorched area along North San Gabriel Canyon Road, near Morris Dam above Azusa, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. But the bodies were not immediately located.

Members of the San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team, however, eventually reached the remains, which were “significantly impacted by the effects of the fire,” according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Trina Schrader.

“The terrain that they’re in, if that is them, there’s no way to outrun a fire because they were uphill from the fire,” Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau Lt. Mike Rosson said today.

Ricardo Pardo told reporters that he, along with family members and friends, had been searching for his brother and cousin ever since and faulted authorities for not treating the case more urgently.

“Me and my family members found the bodies,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s sad that police officers want credit when they didn’t want to help at all.”

According Rosson, the actions taken by authorities upon learning of the missing were appropriate.

The Reservoir merged with another blaze, the Fish Fire, to become the San Gabriel Complex Fire.

—Staff and wire reports