Dad hikes out of canyon for help after family stranded for days, CA officials say
After being stranded for days, a father hiked out of a canyon to search for help for his wife, child and infant, authorities in California said.
The family of four, including a 10-year-old and 9-month-old, was stranded in Fiddle Creek near Indian Valley for three days after hiking to a remote area, according to the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office.
The wife was not able to hike out of the canyon, as the terrain was too steep, and she was “suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
The sheriff’s office learned of the stranded family the evening on Monday, Aug. 15, and requested the help of California Highway Patrol, Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Downieville Fire Department and the United States Forest Service.
Though a CHP helicopter could not find the family, “due to the thick tree canopy,” it was able to guide deputies to the husband’s location, according to the post.
The husband led deputies who hiked to the wife and children about “2,500 feet down the canyon in some of the steepest terrain in Western Sierra County,” the post stated.
Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue took the husband, child and infant through the “rough terrain” and back to their car.
Rescue personnel stayed with the wife overnight “until there was enough daylight for the CHP helicopter to hoist her out of the canyon,” according to the post.
Fiddle Creek is about 95 miles northeast of Sacramento.
This story was originally published August 17, 2022 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Dad hikes out of canyon for help after family stranded for days, CA officials say."
