Two hikers died in Trinity Alps Wilderness, says Sheriff's Office

Nathan Solis | Redding

The bodies of two missing hikers were found Tuesday morning in the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area and a third hiker, who was found alive, is in stable condition, according to a news release issued by the Trinity County Sheriff's Office.

Members of the Trinity County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team found the hikers, two who appeared to have died from exposure. The third hiker, a teenager, was taken to an area hospital, according to the Sheriff's Office.

A family member from out of the area reported the hikers missing on Monday. The hikers were staying at the Trinity Lake KAO campground, but left to travel on June 5 to Boulder Lake.

A sheriff's deputy said the missing hikers and their vehicle were not at the campground. The deputy tried to use the mobile phone numbers of the hikers to get their location, but telephone records did not provide any recent results.

Additional units were called in to search the local trailheads.

On Tuesday morning, while it was still dark, a deputy found the vehicle near the trailhead in the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area, but no one responded to the deputy's air horn or his call on his loud speaker system.

Because it was dark, the deputy was not able to search the wilderness for the missing hikers and began to prepare a search and rescue team that would start at first light.

On Tuesday morning, the three missing hikers were found.

The three were from Southern California, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The names of the deceased hikers will not be released until the investigation is done, according to the Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office declined to release the name of the teenager.