Three hikers found dead on mountain as treacherous winds prevent their bodies being recovered
The sheriff's air rescue team spotted a 19-year-old man along with two other unidentified individuals, but 70mph California wind gusts prevented the helicopter from landing.
Three people died on a California mountain as search-and-rescue helicopters were forced to abandon the scene due to treacherous winds.
On Monday morning, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office responded to Devil's Backbone Trail at Mount Baldy - one of the nation's deadliest peaks - to locate an injured 19-year-old man who had fallen 500 feet, according to Associated Press.
The sheriff's air rescue team spotted the teen along with two others, but 70mph Santa Ana wind gusts prevented the helicopter from landing.
That evening, after a medic was eventually hoisted down from a helicopter, authorities confirmed all three were dead.
Recovery efforts for all three bodies continued Tuesday as strong winds again grounded aircraft, with the causes of death still unknown.
Authorities have not yet released the identity of the 19-year-old hiker and the other two bodies remain unidentified, according to police.
The search and rescue effort began after authorities received a call around 11:30am Monday reporting that a friend had fallen hundreds of feet down a narrow ridge of a remote mountainside.
One of the victim's hiking companions managed to reach an area with cell service and, while on the phone with authorities, provided exact GPS coordinates of the incident.
Three people died on California's Mount Baldy on Monday, but 70mph Santa Ana wind gusts prevented the helicopter from landing and recovering the bodies
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office responded to Devil's Backbone Trail at Mount Baldy - one of the nation's deadliest peaks - to locate an injured 19-year-old man who had fallen 500 feet
The sheriff's air rescue team spotted the teen along with two others. That evening, after a medic was hoisted down from a helicopter, authorities confirmed all three were dead
Deputies launched an aerial and ground search along Devil's Backbone Trail at Mount Baldy shortly afterward - a peak rising over 10,000 feet east of the Los Angeles skyline.
Rescue helicopters eventually caught sight of the 19-year-old man and the two others nearby but had to stand down due to isolated gusts from the Santa Ana winds.
Hours later, around 7:30pm, a Los Angeles County airship lowered a medic who confirmed that all three individuals were deceased.
The strong winds, however, rendered a rescue unsafe and delayed the recovery of the bodies yet again.
'The tragic loss of life on Mt Baldy and repeated rescue responses highlight how dangerous current conditions are, even for experienced hikers,' San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said, according to USA Today.