Hikers missing in Bernardino wilderness found safe

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Three northern San Diego County men who went missing
last weekend while hiking in the San Bernardino-area back country turned up
Tuesday — cold, tired and a bit scuffed up by their ordeal, but otherwise in
good condition.

Deputies aboard a sheriff's patrol helicopter found Miguel DeLatorre and
Ryan Shankles of Oceanside and David Yoder of Carlsbad about 10:15 a.m. in
Northfork Meadows, near Mineshaft Campground.

The trio had heard the aircraft Monday and made their way to a clearing
in hopes that they would be spotted from above, according to the San Bernardino
County Sheriff's Department.

The men, described as experienced hikers, had gone missing Sunday
morning as an unseasonably cold storm dropped snow on the region's highest
elevations.

A friend who started the trek but turned back reported that the group
had spent Friday night at Heart Bar Campground. On Saturday, they drove to a
trailhead, planning to climb to the top of 11,503-foot Mount San Gorgonio, the
tallest peak in Southern California.

In addition to airborne personnel, ground crews, including some on
horseback and others with scenting dogs, combed the wilderness for the missing
hikers. They failed to find any sign of them on Sunday, and the effort was
suspended until shortly after sunrise yesterday.

When found about six miles from a command post set up for the search,
the men had some cuts and scrapes, and one of them apparently had been on the
verge of hypothermia, but they otherwise were healthy and did not require
hospitalization, officials said.

They trio told news crews they had huddled together to stay warm.