A young mother drowned Sunday after being swept away at a river crossing near a popular Southern California hiking trail, a tragedy that unfolded as a mountain rescue team was stationed on the trail to warn hikers about dangerous conditions.
The San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team said it was talking with hikers about safety tips and river crossings around 8 a.m. while set up at the Bridge to Nowhere trailhead on the East Fork of the San Gabriel River in Angeles National Forest when “in an instant, everything changed.”
“A frantic runner came charging up the trail yelling for help,” the rescue team said in a news release. “A young mother had fallen in at the second river crossing and was swept away by the raging current.”
“Our worst fears became reality,” it continued.
Rescuers immediately launched an emergency response. Multiple agencies responded, including Los Angeles County Fire Department, Air Operations, the LASD Aero Bureau and the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station.
Crews located the woman after an extensive search. She was pronounced deceased, and the mission shifted to a recovery operation. The woman’s identity has not been released.
Rescuers said they later assisted the woman’s grieving family at the command post.
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“All we could offer were hugs, water, shade, and our presence in their darkest moment,” the rescue team said. “No words can fix this kind of loss.”
Officials warned that recent conditions have made the East Fork especially dangerous, with swift, high water and multiple required river crossings along the Bridge to Nowhere Trail.
Authorities are urging hikers to avoid the area until water levels significantly drop.
“Turn around if the water looks too fast or too deep,” rescuers said. “Your life is worth more than any hike.”
Angeles National Forest is located northeast of Los Angeles.
