Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Searches are continuing their efforts Wednesday in locating a 59-year-old Northern California woman who was swept away in the San Gabriel River March 9.
Terrain and the swiftness of the river in certain locations makes the effort more difficult for searchers. Tuesday was spent with searchers traversing the river to inspect areas obscured by debris, according to deputy Bommarito, search and rescue coordinator with the San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team. “We haven’t stopped yet. We’re not going to stop. We’re going to keep pushing through with different missions,” Bommarito told SGV CityWatch. Searchers are continuing to focus on an area from the point last seen, which is the Bridge to Nowhere, south to San Gabriel Reservoir. However, Bommarito doesn’t believe at this time that the hiker traveled as far as the reservoir. If she did make it to the reservoir, the hiker would have to travel in one to two miles of shallow water: anywhere from 6 inches to one foot deep, Bommarito told SGV CityWatch. Depending on availability, search teams may range from as few as six to as many as 30 per day, with teams from San Dimas, Sierra Madre, Altadena, Malibu and Avalon, Bommarito said. From the air, the Sheriff’s Department has deployed their Air Rescue 5 helicopter and have had drones from the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau searching the river. The trail leading to the Bridge to Nowhere is a roughly 10-mile hike with as many as four to five river crossings. Some crossings take hikers through ankle-deep water in late spring or early summer. Where the missing hiker tried to cross features water that can be waist deep or chest high, Bommarito told SGV CityWatch. Eyewitnesses who crossed before and after the missing hiker and her friends told searchers that the water was waist high for them Saturday, Bommarito told SGV CityWatch. Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Hazmat crews with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the scene where a dead body was found inside of a van Monday night. First responders were called to the area of Mount Baldy Road near Shinn Road around 10:37 p.m. Monday March 11. It is not immediately clear why hazmat investigators were called to the scene, but they remained at the location and cleared the scene Around 3:17 a.m. Investigators returned just before 5 a.m. and left a location around 8:35 a.m., according to Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatch logs. Detective with the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau were called to investigate the death, according to Lt. Elisabeth Sachs of the Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. It is not immediately clear how long the body may have been inside the van at that location, nor is it immediately clear how the person died. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS - Search and rescue teams will continue looking for a female hiker Sunday who reportedly slipped and fell into the San Gabriel River March 9.
The search was paused Saturday due to diminishing sunlight. Crews will be back at sunrise March 10, according to Lt. Elisabeth Sachs of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas station. First responders were sent to Camp Bonita Road and Heaton Flats near the Bridge to Nowhere around 10 a.m. March 9. The victim, only described as a female, may have attempted a river crossing and slipped. Deputies spent Saturday attempting to notify the victim’s family, Sachs told SGV CityWatch. Search and rescue crews will once again search by foot and will have more air support Sunday. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - The driver of a Ford Ranger had little choice but to wait for help to somehow find her as she lay injured after crashing down 250 over Mt. Baldy Road one week ago.
Authorities said the driver, only described as a middle-aged woman, swerved to avoid striking a deer. She suffered a fractured ankle and was unable to call for help due to a lack of cellphone reception. The twisted Ford Ranger could not be seen from the roadway. “In this person’s case, she had enough supplies to survive in her pickup for four nights before help arrived,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station in a social media statement. A passing hiker set on finding new fishing spots heard the woman’s cries for help and contacted first responders. The San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team rappelled down to the twisted wreck, pulled the woman free and helped package her for air transport to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. “We can’t stress this enough: if you plan on traveling on a mountain road this winter, bring extra supplies. It never hurts to have food, water, a sleeping bag, and extra layers on hand in the event of an emergency,” according to the Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Hikers reportedly stumbled upon a crash scene and a driver was saved after spending three frigid days inside the twisted wreck along Mt. Baldy Road Sunday.
The driver, only described as a middle-aged woman, was apparently alert enough to tell first responders that she had crashed and remained in her vehicle since Wednesday. She was taken by helicopter to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center for further treatment, according to Lt. Philpot of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. The Ford Ranger crash happen along about Mt. Baldy Road north of Shinn Road. First responders were called to the scene around 12:30 p.m. A Los Angeles County fire engine was in the general area when the call was made, and firefighters were very quickly on scene, Philpot told SGV CityWatch. The driver was pulled from the vehicle, which was estimated to be 100 feet down from the roadway, according to the California Highway Patrol. The extent of injuries to the driver is unclear. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Surveillance footage once again helped identify the man accused of gunning down three homeless people in Los Angeles late last month.
The suspect was already in custody, accused of murdering a San Dimas man after following him home from West Covina. Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department Saturday. The three murders of homeless men occurred from November 26 to November 29. The same vehicle was seen at all three murder scenes, investigators said. Ballistics examination determined the gun seized after Powell was arrested in Beverly Hills was used in the homeless murders, according to an LAPD written statement. The first LA murder occurred around 3 a.m. November 26 in the 800 block of West 110th Street. The next murder occurred around 5 a.m. November 27 in the 800 block of East Seventh Street. The third happened around 2:30 p.m. November 29 at South Avenue 18 and South Pasadena Avenue. All victims in the LA murder were sleeping either on a public sidewalk or in an alleyway. Powell will remain in custody pending the filing of charges. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A hiker said to be in his early 30s died Sunday afternoon after jumping in a stream near Mount Baldy Road.
The hiker and a friend were out near the Barrett Stoddard Truck Trail near Mount Baldy Road when they came upon a stream. The hiker jumped once successfully into the stream and jumped in a second time, but failed to resurface, according to Sgt. Duarte of the Los Angeles county sheriffs San Dimas Station. The friend found the hiker’s body somewhere downstream and attempted CPR. Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics took over CPR duties, but eventually declared the hiker dead at the scene, Duarte told SGV CityWatch. The hiker was declared deceased at 6:20 p.m., Duarte told SGV CityWatch. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor AZUSA - US Forest Service personnel notified deputies of a dead body discovered along Highway 39 in the San Gabriel Mountains Thursday morning, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s sergeant said.
The body was found off the side of the road along mile marker 21. The body is listed as a John Doe, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Law enforcement was called to the scene around 9:30 a.m. Homicide detectives were called to investigate. Initially, detectives believe this to be a natural death, according to Sgt. Patrick Gadut of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. The coroner will determine cause of death. LOS ANGELES - A $10,000 reward will be announced Friday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of a man in the San Gabriel Mountains March 25. San Dimas Sheriff’s Station Captain Walid Ashrafnia will be flanked by Homicide Bureau personnel, Sheriff Alex Villanueva and a representative of Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Kathryn Barger to discuss the shooting death of Gerald Purdue. Described as an avid hiker, 63-year-old Gerald “Myles” Perdue was found dead along Mt. Baldy Road near mile marker 3.09. Deputies were notified at 1:45 p.m. An overview of a coroner report noted Perdue died on a hiking trail, the victim of a gunshot wound to the chest. “Deputies from San Dimas Station responded to the location regarding an unresponsive male who was found in a culvert about 60 yards off the road. Upon their arrival, deputies located the victim, a male White in his 60’s who was suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso and pronounced deceased,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau in a previous statement. Purdue’s vehicle was located at the scene. Anyone with information on this shooting is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org. Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor Mt. BALDY – A bear of unknown size entered a cabin in the early morning hours Thursday and fled before deputies arrived. A man alone in the cabin in the 20 block of Bear Drive called deputies around 2:45 a.m. October 8 after he heard the bear rummaging around, according to Lt. Ed MacKenzie of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. The man fled into a bedroom and locked himself inside, MacKenzie told SGV CityWatch.
MacKenzie wasn’t sure if anything at the cabin was damaged or not, nor did he know how the bear entered the cabin. Deputies told each other to keep their lights and sirens on as they arrived in an effort to frighten the bear away, but the bear was already gone, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s radio traffic. The man also reportedly witnessed a bear in a neighbor’s yard, but it was unclear if this was the same bear from the cabin, or another bear. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife was called to the scene, but were called off once deputies could not find the bear. |
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