Missing hikers found in Painted Canyon area near Mecca
A group of hikers reported lost in the Painted Canyon area east of Mecca were found Sunday by a Riverside County sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, sheriff’s officials said.
The four adults and three children began hiking at 11:30 a.m. Sunday and lost their way, according to a written sheriff’s department statement.
They climbed to a high ridge and used a cellphone to call for help.
A California Highway Patrol fixed wing aircraft spotted them and helped keep tabs on the lost hikers.
By the time the volunteer search team responded to the scene at 3:24 p.m., the hikers had made it out on their own, officials said.
