Rescue Team Member Found Dead Amid Search for Missing Hiker On Mount Baldy [CA]

ktla ^ | 12/14/2019

[BenLurkin]

A search and rescue team member was found dead Saturday amid the search for a 52-year-old hiker from Irvine who went missing near Mount Baldy nearly a week ago, authorities said.

The death took place as members of a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue Team continued their search for the missing hiker into a seventh day.

It was not clear how the rescuer died Saturday afternoon.

Crews have been working in tough terrain, dealing with waist-deep snow, icy conditions and treacherous cliffs at elevations at around 7,000 feet, officials said. The mountain and surrounding area were closed to the public during the search.

The search operation began when Mokkapati became separated from his group and failed to return from a planned day hike.

[Engedi]

Wow never heard of him or his books. Interesting. I read the Grand Canyon book on all the deaths there. Very interesting read as well.

[Redcitizen]

I can say I’ve been to a place in the Navajo reservation mountains where it was so quiet in the middle of the day back in the 90s. No animals, no background activities. It was eerie. Now my friends and I were used to being out in the wilderness, but that’s the only time I experienced what David Paulides described in cases where people went missing that things went deathly still.
And another anecdote is my buddy from High school was rising an ATV with other family members on ATVs on a mountain trail. The last ATV rider says at one point something tugged on his rifle barrel- the rifle was on his back. He looked back and nothing was there. Check out the conversation at 14:40 on this link. They’re talking about the last man on the link disappears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGNwRJuQ6zw&list=PLMDrCBp9ktoT-xeyD-cAwnolLOxEb7905&index=3st interesting.