A woman’s body, believed to be that of a missing 50-year-old hiker, was found on Monday after she went missing the previous day in a San Diego wilderness area, police said.
The hiker, Diem Le Nguyen, disappeared Sunday morning after separating from her hiking group of about 100 people on the Nighthawk Trail in Black Mountain Open Space Park, Rancho Peñasquitos, according to the San Diego Police Department.
A search helicopter spotted a body Monday morning in the area where Nguyen was hiking, police said. They could not confirm if the body was Nguyen’s and are awaiting autopsy results. The search and rescue mission has now become a medical examination.
Nguyen started the hike at 8 a.m. with the group, police said. The group turned back halfway up the mountain due to the heat, but Nguyen decided to continue alone to the peak, according to Lt. Daniel Meyer, a San Diego Police Department spokesman.
Around 10 a.m., Nguyen called her relatives in distress from the end of the trail, saying she was very hot and needed water. That was the last contact anyone had with her, Meyer said.
At 11:30 a.m. Sunday, police launched a search-and-rescue operation, including a helicopter from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
A photo of Nguyen on the trail, taken Sunday and showing her flashing a peace sign next to a trailhead sign, was released by police. They asked the public to call 911 with any information about her whereabouts.
Nguyen and her group were hiking in high temperatures over the weekend. The National Weather Service had issued a heat advisory, with temperatures reaching the low 90s on Sunday. Some members of the group turned back because of the heat, but Nguyen was determined to reach the 4,048-foot summit of Black Mountain.
Nguyen was last seen wearing a black shirt with a pink heart, black pants, a brown hat, sunglasses, and a backpack, police said.
Meanwhile, another hiker in California, Luke McClish, 34, was found alive after being lost for 10 days in the Santa Cruz Mountains. McClish had set out on a short hike on June 11 without informing anyone. When he missed a Father’s Day dinner, his family reported him missing. Found at the bottom of a ravine, McClish said he survived by drinking creek water and lost 30 pounds during the ordeal.