A day hike at the Malibu Creek State Park in California turned dangerous for a father, his teenage daughter, and her four friends last Saturday evening.
According to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the group found itself high and dry on a "treacherous cliff slope" off Goat Butte Mountain in Malibu. While two people were able to scramble down the cliff face safely, the other four were stranded on the edge until one of them was able to get cell phone service and call for help.
LASD's Malibu Search and Rescue team responded swiftly and rescued the remaining four hikers. Here's how they did it:
A Sheriff's MSAR ground team reached the victims and set up a technical rope lowering system. The victims were safely lowered to the base of the mountain where they were escorted to the Sheriff’s Department Command Post at 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Unincorporated Malibu.
Sheriff's MSAR was assisted by Los Angeles County Fire Engine Company 67 and Helicopter 16, who extracted one of the teen victims via helicopter cable winch, because she was too frightened to be taken down the slope.
No one was injured, and all returned home to Los Angeles safely.
Photos by Mark Hollinger of Malibu Search and Rescue, courtesy of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Story continues below.
Teens Rescued From Malibu Cliff
While a cell phone saved the hikers last Saturday,Sheriff's Captain Mike Parker told the LA Times that hikers shouldn't expect to have cell signal while hiking:
It's not normal for a cellphone to work in nature... For some people, it's sheer luck that they get [a signal], so we would strongly recommend when people go out for their day hike that they do things beyond bringing a cellphone and thinking it's going to save them.
The hikers' rescue on Saturday was a bright spot in what has otherwise been a tragic few weeks for Southern California hikers. A hiker in the Angeles Forest, John Jutiyasantayanon, fell to his death near Eaton Canyon in Altadena that same day. His was the second hiker death in as many weeks near that canyon. Last week, a man also broke both of his legs when hiking around Eaton Canyon.
