Body of missing hiker, 22, recovered from California mountain amid heavy snow
The body of 22-year-old woman who went missing for more than a week while hiking at a mountainous beauty spot during heavy winter weather was found and recovered Sunday night, police said.
The body of 22-year-old woman who went missing for more than a week while hiking at a mountainous beauty spot during heavy winter weather was found and recovered Sunday night, police said.
Lefei Huang, from El Monte, went missing Feb. 4 and was only found over the weekend after a member of the public flying a drone spotted her body Friday. Search operations were hindered by the snowstorms and high winds which have affected high-altitude parts of California for much of the winter.
Law enforcement agencies used the incident to warn the public not to set out alone in bad weather — Huang went hiking just before a “atmospheric river” storm was due to hit the West Coast, which brought historic levels of rain and flooding to towns and cities, and high levels of snow in the mountains.
Huang departed alone on a hike at 2 p.m. Feb. 4 in the Mount Baldy area of the San Gabriel Mountains and was not seen again, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said. The sheriff's department received a call at 11:14 p.m. the same day and began a search at 2:30 a.m. but found nothing.
On Feb. 6, search crews continued in very heavy snowfall but were then pulled off the mountain because of the risk of an avalanche.
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