Heat Exhaustion, Lack of Water Lead to Search of Overdue Trail Runner Near Temecula

Sheriff's deputies spent two hours assisting the U.S. Forest Service in the search for a runner near the Dripping Springs campground near Temecula who was four hours overdue until the man followed a California Highway Patrol airplane to the trailhead, a sheriff's sergeant said Monday.

The search began at 4:30 p.m. Sunday when the 56-year-old man from Winchester was reported more than four hours overdue from a three-hour run, said Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Marc Cloutier.

"With the assistance from the California Highway Patrol's fixed wing aircraft and personnel from the U.S. Forest Service, the athlete effected a self-rescue and returned to the trail head at 6:30 p.m.," Cloutier said. "Heat exhaustion and a lack of water preparedness were factors in the incident."

The man is a competitive endurance athlete, he said.

– City News Service.