Missing snowboarder rescued days after disappearing from Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood
A man who went missing over the weekend in Wrightwood was located safely on Tuesday, according Los Angeles County authorities.
Malachi Garcia, 35, was snowboarding with friends at the Mountain High Resort on Sunday, Jan. 26 at around 1:30 p.m. when he took a wrong turn and ended up about four miles from the resort. This was the last time he was seen until Tuesday.
They say that despite spending about 48 hours alone and in frigid temperatures, he was able to continue moving through the dense snow, until he was located just outside of the snow line. Garcia had left his phone behind when he hit the trails, which is why he was unable to contact anyone once he went missing.
Deputies noticed a trail of footprints in the powder, which they followed to find Garcia from a helicopter overhead. They shared footage on Tuesday as Garcia was hoisted to safety into Air Rescue 5.
"He was pretty emotional," said Deputy Casey Cheshier, with LASD's Special Enforcement Bureau. "He had been out there for a long time. He was pretty tired, very cold and just happy to be found. He survived, that's all that matters."
It all happened in the midst of the first considerable winter storm to hit Southern California, leaving more than a foot of fresh powder in the area at the same time that he was missing.
"He definitely wasn't dressed for the weather, he was only wearing a hooded sweatshirt, snowboard pants and boots. Enough to stay a little warm but not enough for that altitude and this weather," Dep. Cheshier said.
They had tried to send the helicopter to the location the day prior to search for Garcia, but icy conditions prevented them from flying farther into the area. Deputies also used drones to search on Monday.