Full Notification

(WATCH ABC-TV 7 VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS MESSAGE)


A 44 year Anaheim man left for the San Gabriel Mountains, prepared to enjoy a hiking trip from Thursday night through Saturday night (October 28-30). When he didn’t return by Monday morning, a relative reported him as a missing person to Anaheim Police Department personnel, who informed Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies.

Air Rescue-5 helicopter deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department located missing person Scott Gossard’s vehicle today at about 8:00 A.M., in the area of Mount Waterman near the Buckhorn Campground, of the Angeles National Forest.

The Sheriff’s Montrose Search and Rescue Team was activated and an intensive search began. Air Rescue-5 could not find the missing man by visual search alone, so they deployed three Sheriff’s Montrose Search and Rescue Team members into the area between Twin Peaks and Triplet Rocks. In the area of Twin Peaks, the rescuers were lowered from the helicopter down into the rocky terrain to conduct a ground search.

The rescue team deputies tracked the hiker’s footprints for about two hours, while repeatedly shouting Gossard’s name and blowing whistles to hopefully get his attention. It had recently snowed and rained, which made following his tracks very difficult.

The deputies knew what the soles of his climber’s boots looked like, because his family had emailed photos of the boots to the Sheriff’s Department. They had retained the pictures of the boots because he is a frequent hiker and they were concerned that one day he might be missing during a hike. (SEE ATTACHED PHOTOS VIA THE LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS MESSAGE)

Finally, the rescuers heard Gossard shout back, which enabled them to pinpoint his location. They then spotted Gossard about a half mile away on a rock outcropping. The deputies hiked to his position and radioed for Sheriff’s Rescue Air-5 to respond to their position. Because the area is very rocky and icy, rather than having them all hike out of the area, Air Rescue-5 extracted Gossard and the three rescue team members.

Gossard told the rescue team he had lost his map, became disoriented, and could not find his way out of the area. His supply of drinking water became low, so he fed on snow to hydrate himself. Fortunately, he was not injured and was actually able to drive himself home.

“What most likely saved his life, was that he is an experienced hiker and knew the importance of informing his family of when he intended to return, and very specifically where he would be hiking,” said Sheriff’s Reserve Chief Mike Leum.


(SEE ABC-TV 7 NEWS COVERAGE AND INTERVIEW WITH THE RESCUED HIKER AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS MESSAGE)



Press Release

Lt. Angela Shepherd
Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
4554 Briggs Avenue, La Crescenta
818 248-3464
www.lasd.org


Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff


SEE ABC-TV 7 NEWS COVERAGE AND INTERVIEW WITH THE RESCUED HIKER AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS MESSAGE
(This Internet link is provided for your convenience. The LASD does not endorse advertised products)

Missing hiker rescued after three days lost [ABC-TV 7 website video]

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=7759260