Lost Hiker Found Off Cold Springs Trail

Santa Barbara- June 5th, 2010

On Friday, June 4, 2010, a 60-year old female hiker from Goleta, went for a late afternoon hike with her dog on Cold Springs Trail in Montecito. After hiking up the canyon she realized that she was on an unfamiliar trail and soon found herself lost on the mountain side of Cold Springs Canyon. Unable to proceed further due to the thickness of the brush and steepness of the mountain side, she used her cell phone to call 911 as the sun was starting to go down.

Members of the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue Team along with Santa Barbara Sheriff Aviation Copter 1 responded to the area.  Using GPS coordinates generated by her cell phone SAR ground teams hiked into the upper canyon of Cold Springs and began a search for the subject.  Upon arrival, Copter 1 was directed into the area by SAR, which was in cell phone contact with the stranded hiker.

Using their night vision equipment they were able to located the subject by the glow of her cell phone.  Copter 1 directed the two SAR ground teams as they climbed through the steep and heavily vegetative mountainside to the subject.  SAR personnel then assisted the uninjured subject and her dog back down the mountain to her car at the Cold Springs Trailhead.

SAR Incident Commander Jennifer Beyer said several things helped the hiker to be successfully rescued.  First, when she realized she was lost, the woman used her cell phone to call 911 for assistance, instead of trying to push on through the heavy brush, preventing possible injuries due to possibly falling on the steep mountain side.  Next, she remained calm and helped the rescue teams locate her by describing where she was and using her cell phone as a light source for the helicopter to locate her.

According to Ms. Beyer, “Copter 1 was instrumental with their night vision equipment and high intensity spot light in being able to quickly locate the lost hiker and then directing our ground Search ad Rescue teams safely to her.” 

Santa Barbara County Search & Rescue is an all volunteer organization under the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.  For further information on this SAR incident or how to become involved with search and rescue as a volunteer contact Nelson Trichler, SAR PIO, at 805-698-0752.

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