Two teens survive ‘really cold’ night on California mountain after others rescued

Searchers rescued 13 teens and adults Monday night after they became lost on a high school hike on Mount Baldy in Southern California, sheriff’s officials said.

But Andrea Jauregui, 15, and Andres Juarez, 16, were still on the mountain, KNBC reported. They had become separated from the others when Jauregui got hurt.

“All of a sudden, we tried to go up the mountain and we saw no one, and we kept going but we couldn’t find anyone,” Jauregui told KTLA. They tried yelling for help and signaling with a phone flashlight until the battery died.

The teens ended up spending “a really cold night” on the mountain, Juarez told KNBC. Rescuers found them Tuesday morning.

The teens were part of a trip to the mountain by 51 students on the Downey High School soccer and lacrosse teams, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. Two coaches and a teacher also took part.

The group became separated while hiking the Devil’s Backbone and Ski Hut trails on the 4,193-foot mountain, sheriff’s officials said.

Most returned to the parking lot and left, but at 7 p.m. a group of 13 still on the mountain called 911 to report they could not safely hike out.

A sheriff’s helicopter hoisted 10 teens and the three adults from the mountain but could not find Jauregui and Juarez, the statement said.

Volunteers searched through the night and airlifted the two teens to safety at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday.

Downey Unified School District officials said they will review the incident, KNBC reported.

This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 9:08 AM with the headline "Two teens survive ‘really cold’ night on California mountain after others rescued."