Here it is

Joshua Tree National Park (CA)
Missing Hiker Found After Five-Day Search

The five-day search for Culver City resident Edward Rosenthal ended yesterday with search crews finding the missing hiker alive. A helicopter crew from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office found Rosenthal around 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning. He was given first aid at the scene by the helicopter crew and airlifted to Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, California, where he is being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit as a precautionary measure and is listed in fair condition. Rosenthal began hiking last Friday in an area near Black Rock Campground. After failing to return from his hike, he was reported missing by campers to National Park Service rangers on Sunday, September 26th. Search efforts were initially concentrated along maintained trails in the Black Rock area. Late last Tuesday, search teams found tracks believed to be Rosenthal’s in the East Wide Canyon area of the park – a remote, rugged wilderness of steep hills, deep ravines, and desert canyons. Since Wednesday, rescue efforts have been concentrated in this area of the park, leading to Rosenthal’s discovery Thursday morning. During his ordeal, Rosenthal sustained himself on the limited amount of food and water he carried in his daypack. Eventually, he sought a shady location in side ravine, where he waited for help. Searcher and rescue personnel participating in the extended search included the following organizations: Joshua Tree Search and Rescue (JOSAR), San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, San Bernardino County Search and Rescue, Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, San Diego Mountain Rescue, and the Civil Air Patrol. Park staff and San Bernardino County’s Sheriff’s personnel provided vital logistical support. Each day, anywhere from 25 to 55 searchers took part in the ongoing operation. Ground search teams, trackers, equestrian teams, search dogs, and airplanes and helicopters all contributed to the successful outcome. IC Dan Messaros closed the command center on Thursday afternoon and thanked all personnel involved for their dedication, professionalism, and perseverance. The Edward Rosenthal family wishes to express its thanks to all search personnel, family members, and well-wishers who supported them during their long ordeal. [Submitted by Joe Zarki, Public Affairs Officer]


Sometimes it works out fine. Note that he was signaling the helo. Pretty smart dude.

It is nice to see a success story

It is...

But why on earth was he hiking? It's been 110+ in Los Angeles (which is ON the coast) - had to be at least 120 where he was. Good job surviving, maybe a bit of poor decision making by even going in the first place.

Here is another link to the story:

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/201...appy-ending7010

One of my favorite places on earth, but no place to be unprepared. It is easy to just get stuck in the sand, let alone lost.

According to the article HerbG referenced, Joshua Tree was 15-20 degrees cooler than the LA basin, so not as abnormally hot as usual. Still, I find it a bit odd to be sweating so much in October here in SoCal. The leaves are even turning colors and falling off the trees while my wife is sunbathing in the backyard today!

A local TV news segment on this story said that he got lost after his GPS unit crapped out during the hike. Reportedly, he had a compass, too, but I guess land nav skills could've been better.

Still, a tough guy to make it that long.

Lucky break on the weather. Think the marine layer shifted 100 miles and helped him?
Good things to learn from the story (nav skills, weather forcasting, staying in place, don't keep "walking downhill," you're probably harder to find in a canyon - but conversely maybe in the shade), but overall he did suprisingly well considering the environment.

Rosenthal gave his first interview since being rescued. Here's an LA Times article. He did some things right, but made some big mistakes, too, like heading out with practically no water and continuing to hike for miles and miles when he should've known that he had missed the loop trail he was trying to follow.

The article mentions that he had a compass (but no map) and I don't see any mention of a broken GPS, so maybe that report I heard earlier was false.

He tried signalling SAR helicopters with his space blanket and two fires started with flares, but apparently those didn't get their attention. On TV, he mentioned that he had seen the choppers flying around for days looking for him, so I guess that they were just too far, and the desert too vast, to see his signalling attempts.

It's amazing he survived almost a week in the desert when he basically ran out of water on the day he first got lost.