Anonymous
By the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
On May 12, 2023, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Upper Ojai Search and Rescue (SAR) Team located and came to the aid of 10 missing hikers near the “Last Chance” area of the Santa Paula Canyon.
On the above date, at approximately 8:00 P.M., Ventura County Sheriff’s Dispatch received a text message from a group of ten hikers who were unable to find their way back from the Santa Paula Canyon. These hikers were able to contact Ventura County Sheriff’s Dispatch through the Apple Emergency SOS feature and provided valuable information such as a possible location and if immediate medical aid was needed. Additionally, guardians for the 10 overdue hikers contacted Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputies near the trailhead to report the subjects as missing and possibly in need of assistance.
At approximately 8:30 P.M., the Upper Ojai Search and Rescue (SAR) Team was activated and immediately responded to the Santa Paula Canyon Trailhead. A total of 13 SAR members responded to locate the missing hikers.
SAR team members hiked approximately 4 miles into the Santa Paula Canyon to locate the 10 missing hikers. SAR team members were faced with low visibility, multiple stream crossings and trails that had been previously damaged from the heavy rains.
At approximately 11:15 P.M., SAR team members located the 10 missing hikers. Most of the hikers were not prepared for the hike and were provided with food, drinking water and lighting equipment as they were led out to the Santa Paula Canyon Trailhead.
At approximately 2:40 A.M., SAR team members returned to the Santa Paula Canyon Trailhead with the 10 missing hikers. The hikers were reunited with their guardians and fortunately did not require any medical aid.
The Upper Ojai Search and Rescue (SAR) Team consists of approximately 28 volunteers skilled in search and rescue operations in mountain, canyon and urban settings. The team volunteers on average 4000 hours per year on searches, rescues, training and public events.
For more information on the Upper Ojai Search and Rescue (SAR) Team, visit their website at www.ojaisar.org. Additionally, the team can be followed on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @ojaisar.
bravo! great work guys/ladies! thank you! wish i was there to assist!
Terrific job, with a happy ending. Thanks for your commitment SAR!
Most of the hikers were not prepared for the hike and were provided with food, drinking water and lighting equipment as they were led out to the Santa Paula Canyon Trailhead.
Tells it all !
Lets think about this. They are able to make contact officials, no medical need, plenty of water and not in any danger. Weather is obviously nice since they are wearing shorts, skirt and tee shirts. They earned a great educational experience, let them spend the night enjoying nature.
Fail380 with another “Don’t help anyone” comment.
SAIL – I somewhat agree, but then read that their “guardians” (ie, parents) were there at the trailhead. Sounds like they were teens and if they were out of water and only prepared for a day hike, spending the night might have been dangerous. Plus, they were lost while it was daylight (before 8pm), so they may have had the same problem the next day, again without water.
Instead of belittling young folks who get off their butts to go explore nature, albeit unprepared, let’s be thankful no one was hurt and our SAR team was able to hone its skills once again!
Yes, let’s think about this. A situation that was not totally out of control is then handled by SAR.
If SAR decides to “not rescue” because they remotely determine that the teens are not in any danger, then what? Ten lost people try to climb out–they didn’t have water or flashlights or warm clothing or survival blankets. The fact that they started in t-shirts because it was a nice day doesn’t mean the temperature doesn’t drop a fair amount. Okay, so now they are cold, hungry, disoriented, and what–maybe they end up climbing into real trouble off the trail. So maybe someone ends up sliding off a cliff, or someone just breaks an ankle or arm, so then what.
I’m confident that SAR had a better read on the situation than you do.