YWN[chicago-aneinu]B"H Los Angeles Hatzolah & Chaveirim Find Missing Hiker Alive After 2 Days

As was reported first on YWN, members of Hatzolah of Los Angeles, were called to search for a 48-year-old male who had gone missing. The missing individual, an avid hiker, had last been seen sometime on Friday, March 11, 2012. By early Sunday morning, Hatzolah volunteers had identified some 60 possible hiking areas that the missing man may have visited. Hatzolah commenced the process of identifying high-priority areas in which to focus search efforts, also enlisting the assistance of Chaverim of Los Angeles, another community-based volunteer organization. At 5:00 PM on Sunday, March 11, 2012, one of Hatzolah’s EMTs located the missing individual’s 2001 Honda Civic at the entrance to several trails of the Angeles National Forest in Alta Dena. Hatzolah officials shared this information with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Park Rangers. While awaiting the arrival of public safety agencies, Hatzolah, along with community volunteers, began searching nearby trails in an effort to locate the missing person. Hatzolah simultaneously established a command post in order to assist the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team. Hatzolah members also went door-to-door, canvassing the surrounding neighborhoods to determine if neighbors had seen or knew the whereabouts of the missing hiker The Sheriff’s Department deployed teams of hikers and ATVs, equipped with Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIRR) technology. During the search, Hatzolah worked closely with the Alta Dena Sheriff’s Office as well as with Scott Svonkin of Sheriff’s Lee Bacca’s office. Hatzolah continued to search with the Sheriff’s Department into nightfall. At approximately 9:00 PM on Sunday, Sierra Madre Mountain Rescue had located the missing hiker at the bottom of a ravine. The hiker had reportedly suffered a head injury. A team of Hatzolah EMTs descended the ravine along with Sheriff’s rescuers and assessed the victim’s condition, provided stabilizing medical treatment in order to facilitate safe extrication efforts. The victim was subsequently extricated and transported to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Hatzolah would like to thank the Sheriff’s deputies, Park Rangers, and community members who were involved in these search and rescue efforts. Hatzolah would also like to thank its own dedicated volunteers, as well as the volunteers of Chaverim for their outstanding efforts which led to the successful rescue of this missing hiker.