On Saturday, Jan. 19, a hiker was found and pronounced dead in Anza. Deputies responded to the 56000 block of East State Highway 74 around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, after receiving a call reporting a group of four hikers had gone for a hike the previous day and had not returned.
The caller also reported that one additional member of their party set out looking for them believing them to be lost. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Aviation Unit and Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) assisted with the rescue, ultimately locating and extracting the group of four to the Lake Hemet Mountain Station.
The Sheriff’s Department stated that the lone hiker was later found at the bottom of a 150-foot mountain face and pronounced dead on the scene by RMRU personnel. An investigation was initiated by Riverside County Coroner’s Bureau once the hiker’s remains were recovered. The hiker’s identity has not yet been disclosed.
