By Mary O’KEEFE

Two mountain bikers were found safe and uninjured after spending most of the night in Angeles National Forest.

Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station received a called at 10:50 p.m. on Sunday night concerning two brothers, ages 42 and 45, that had been separated from their two friends while mountain biking.  The four bikers had planned to ride from the Red Box area to Switzer Falls in the Angeles National Forest.

Montrose Search and Rescue members, assisted by a Sierra Madre team, began searching the area.  The friends reported the brothers had become separated from them about three miles from Switzer Falls.

When the friends realized the brothers had not returned to their vehicle, they called the sheriff and reported them lost, said Sgt. Tuinstra, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Crescenta Valley Station.

The two missing mountain bikers were found at 5:10 a.m. this morning near Switzer, tired but uninjured.

By Mary O’KEEFE

A Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s deputy kept a hiker on the phone Sunday keeping him calm after he had fallen off a cliff in the Angeles National Forest.

A call came into the CV Sheriff’s Station Sunday about 4 p.m. Dep. Steve Toley took the initial call of an injured hiker who wasn’t certain of his exact location.

The 22-year-old man and his friend, a 21-year-old man both from Temple City, were hiking when the 22-year-old fell off the side of a cliff.

“We were told later he was two miles past the ranger’s station about a mile down from [Switzer’s] water fall,” Toley said. “He said he had fallen on his back. I told him to stay there.”

The man told Toley he was hanging onto a bush and was in a precarious position.

Toley added he could hear the injured man yelling at his friend so he knew he wasn’t alone.

The hiker said he saw a helicopter but Toley wasn’t certain if it was Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Air Five or one that the L.A. County Fire had sent out.

“I told him to stay calm and that [help was on the way],” he said.

Toley said he was impressed with the way the injured main man remained calm.

Air Five found and rescued
the two hikers and trans-
ported them to a nearby hospital.

“He was just lucky that
his cellphone worked. You usually don’t have any phone reception in the [ANF],” Toley said.

By Mary O’KEEFE

A 17-year-old girl was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital on Monday night at 6:15 p.m. after she fell while hiking with other teens in Upper Big Tujunga near Camp Colby.
“The teen had fallen and [appeared] to have a broken arm and leg,” said Sgt. Michael Stuver of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Air Rescue Five helicopter deputies responded to the waterfalls in “The Narrows” below Camp Colby in Angeles National Forest. The 17-year-old victim was located at the base of a large waterfall, falling about 25 feet onto the rocks below. A paramedic was lowered to the victim and she was hoisted into the aircraft. She was treated by paramedics and transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital, according to responders.
U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County Fire personnel hiked into the area to assist.
Only the female teen was transported.

By Mary O’Keefe

Detectives at Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the L.A. Corners office are continuing their investigation into the discovery of two skeletal remains in the Angeles National Forest over the Christmas holiday.

On the afternoon of Dec. 24, two hikers contacted Los Angeles County Sheriffs after they found a skull in Angeles National Forest at mile marker 19.43. The hikers put the skull in a box and transported it down Angeles National Forest Highway where they contacted law enforcement. The deputies went to the location where the skull had been discovered, but found no additional bones at that time. The location was in the area that Caltrans had been recently working. On Dec. 25, Christmas Day, homicide detectives arrived in the area with forensic units to investigate and about two miles from that location another skull with a partial skeleton was found. The investigation continued through Dec. 26, no other remains had been located, according to a sheriff’s spokesman.

“There was a bullet hole found in one of the skulls. We found most of the upper torso with the second [skull],” said Det. Philip Guzman.

An anthropologist working with the L.A. County Coroner’s office is now in the process of examining the bones.

All indications are the bones were there before the Station Fire.

“We don’t know if they were there just before the fire or years before,” Guzman said.

Detectives are going through all missing person’s reports they have at their department.  They will then contact other law enforcement missing person units, Guzman said.

More information on the remains is expected from the coroner’s office next week.

On the afternoon of Dec. 24, two hikers contacted Los Angeles County Sheriffs after  they found a skull in Angeles National Forest at mile marker 19.43. The hikers put the skull in a box and transported it down Angeles National Forest Highway where they contacted law enforcement. The deputies went to the location where the skull had been discovered, but found no additional bones. The location was in the area that Caltrans had been recently working. On Dec. 25, Christmas Day, homicide detectives arrived in the area with forensic units to investigate and about two miles from that location another skull with a partial skeleton were found. The investigation continued, but as of Dec. 26, no other remains had been located.

Following the preliminary investigation it appears that the bones are old and were there before the Station Fire broke out in August.