UPDATE: CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department officials confirmed at 3:30 p.m. that their personnel did not make contact with the patient who had reported a medical emergency earlier in the day. As a result, the active search and rescue incident has been turned over to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Please direct any questions or inquiries to their agency.
Emergency crews are actively working to reach a hiker experiencing a medical emergency on the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail near Anza, officials reported Thursday afternoon.
Responders were dispatched at 12:14 p.m. to the remote backcountry vicinity of Bear Track Court and Old Cattle Trail, located off Coyote Canyon Road in unincorporated Riverside County. Officials confirmed the hiker was navigating the California Section B portion of the trail when the emergency occurred.
Due to the challenging terrain, ground crews are currently coordinating with air support. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Aviation Unit, specifically helicopter Rescue 9, has been requested to execute a hoist operation to extract the hiker and transport them to a designated landing zone.
At this time, the hiker remains with injuries of unknown severity as rescue personnel continue their assessment and extraction efforts.
