SAR News: Rescue crews searching for missing hiker

SAR UPDATE: Missing hiker rescued!

Rescued hiker a famed nutritionist from Riverside

After surviving extreme weather overnight, authorities rescued missing hiker Ellen Coleman – a famed nutritionist out of Riverside –earlier today from atop Mount San Jacinto.

The 53-year-old was reported missing Sunday morning. She is being treated at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, suffering a broken ankle and frostbite to her hands and face, hospital spokesman Don Brady said.

“Except for that, she’s in good condition and very good spirits,” Brady said.

Coleman is in the hospital’s emergency room, but could be released today, he added.

Coleman has declined any media interviews.

Authorities say they found Coleman inside a shelter cabin near the peak. She had an injury to her leg and made her way to the shelter to wait for help, according to Jerry Franchville, an investigator with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Friends say she was no stranger to the mountain.

“She hikes that thing all the time,” said Jim Clover, coordinator at The Sport Clinic in Riverside whose known Coleman since 1981.

“If she got herself into trouble, I’m sure was prepared as much as she could be.”

Coleman is well known in the sports medicine field. She consults with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Anaheim Angels, Clover said.

Source: mydesert.com

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Rescue crews atop Mount San Jacinto are continuing to search today for a 53-year-old female hiker - one of six hikers from three separate groups who either slid off icy trails or got lost near the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway this weekend, officials said Sunday.

It all started at about 7:10 p.m. Saturday with a cell phone call from two stranded hikers who had slid some 600 to 700 yards off Skyline Trail, said Riveride County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela.

The hikers, Marine Sgt. Lucas Ellison and Marine Sgt. Lance Chatagier, both 26 and stationed in Twentynine Palms, were helped out of dangerous ice and cliffs by volunteers using ropes and crampons on Sunday.

"It was treacherous terrain," Valenzuela said, and they were unable to work their way back.

Chatagier and Ellison, who are each believed to have at least four years of hiking experience, were wearing camouflage clothing when they slid off the trail.

The search for Ellen Coleman, the hiker who is still missing, ended at 4 p.m. Sunday due to strong winds, Valenzuela said. Rescuers resumed the search this morning at 9 a.m.

She reportedly rode the tramway to an elevation of about 8,500 feet and planned to attempt to reach the summit of Mount San Jacinto.

No word on any injuries, officials said.

The sheriff's department's helicopter was able to zero in on the Marines Saturday, but windy conditions prevented a rescue from the air.

That led to the deployment of the Mountain Rescue Unit, which determined after reaching the pair that it would be safer to head to the Mountain Station for the night.

In addition, workers rescued three separate hikers who got lost and brought them to safety Saturday night, Valenzuela said, adding that she had no specific details about this group.

And, in another separate incident that resulted in an arrest, a 34-year-old man was charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly shining a high-powered spotlight on the helicopter that was involved in the initial rescue attempt of the Marines, officials said.

His name was not immediately released.

Source: The Desert Sun