Full Notification

At approximately 5:20 p.m. on December 12, the Santa Barbara County Emergency Communication Dispatch Center received a 9-1-1 call from two hikers in the area of the "Lizard's Mouth" trail, approximately 5 miles north of Goleta. The hikers, a mother and her adult son from Los Altos in Northern California, decided to go for a late afternoon hike. The hikers became lost when the sun went down and they were unable to find their way back to their car parked on West Camino Cielo. Unfortunately, while trying to hike out of the area, the mother twisted her ankle and was unable to walk any further.

Members of the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue (SBCSAR) team were paged out to initiate a search to find the hikers. SBCSAR spoke with the hikers via cell phone and was able to determine the hikers’ GPS coordinates utilizing a cell phone app developed by SBCSAR. SBCSAR sent in a rescue team to physically locate the hikers. Once the hikers were located, SBCSAR personnel and an engine crew from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department spent about 1-1/2 hours carrying the hiker out on a stretcher.

SBCSAR, an all-volunteer team under the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, reminds the public to always be prepared for an emergency by bringing the right equipment when hiking. For more hiking tips and what essentials to carry, please go to www.sbcsar.org