- - Hiker Went Looking for 4 Missing Friends Only to Turn Up Dead After They Were Safely Rescued

David ChiuJanuary 20, 2026 at 10:20 PM

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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park at sunset in Borrego Springs, Calif., near where the hikers went missing -

Four hikers went missing in the vicinity of Anza, Calif., on Saturday and another member of their party went off to search for them, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said

Authorities later rescued the lost group but found the other hiker dead near the bottom of an approximately 150-foot rock face

The coroner is investigating

A hiker went looking for four friends who had not yet returned from their own hike over the weekend — only to be found dead while the larger group was found stranded but okay, California authorities said.

According to an incident report, deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office responded late on Saturday, Jan. 17, to an area of the 56000 block of East State Highway 74 in Anza about the missing hiker.

The caller who notified authorities said that a group of four people left for a hike earlier that morning but did not return.

A fifth hiker from the party, who did not accompany them, became concerned that the four might be in trouble and went off to search for them, the sheriff’s office report states.

“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Aviation Unit and Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) were requested and responded to assist,” the sheriff’s office said.

While the aviation unit “located the initial group of lost hikers and safely hoisted them out“ — sending them for medical evaluations — the other missing hiker wasn't initially found.

The hiker's body was subsequently found near the bottom of an approximately 150-foot rock face, authorities said.

“RMRU personnel reached the hiker and pronounced the hiker deceased at the scene,” the sheriff’s office report states.

The body of the victim was recovered from the remote mountainous area, the report continues.

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Their identity has not been disclosed and an investigation by the coroner’s office is ongoing.

Those with information about the incident are asked to call the Hemet Sheriff Station at 951-791–3400.

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Source: “AOL Breaking”