Hiker's Search for Missing Friends Turns Fatal in California

A weekend search for four missing hikers in Southern California ended with an unexpected tragedy for the man who went looking for them. Riverside County authorities say a group of four hikers became disoriented Saturday evening in a remote, mountainous area near State Route 74 in Anza, the Los Angeles Times reports. A fifth member of the group, concerned for their safety, left to try to find them on his own, according to the sheriff's office.

Authorities were notified about the four missing hikers at 8:26pm, prompting a response from aviation and mountain rescue units. "The caller reported four subjects in their group left for a hike early that morning and was concerned they had not returned," per a news release. "Believing they could be in distress, an additional subject in their party went searching for them." Crews in a helicopter eventually spotted the original four hikers and lifted them to safety, CBS News reports. As the search continued, rescuers discovered the separate hiker at the base of a roughly 150-foot steep vertical rock face. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The surviving hikers were taken to the sheriff's Lake Hemet Mountain Station for medical evaluations; their conditions were not immediately released. The county coroner is investigating the death, and the man's name has not yet been made public pending notification of relatives, KTLA reports.