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New Search Fails to Locate Man Over Side (Update)
Full Response bvy Emergency Crews
By Michael P. Neufeld
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Update — Sunday 5:20 a.m.
Crestline, CA — An additional search Saturday failed to locate any sign of a man over the side of the mountain near the Crestline Bridge.
Authorities now believe the call Friday night was an apparent false alarm based on mistaken information.
Saturday a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department helicopter made an extra daylight search of the area where the incident reportedly took place. The search, assisted by ground crews, failed to turn up any sign of a victim.
One of San Bernardino County Sheriff Department' s helicopters, designated 40-King. (Photo by San Bernardino County Sheriff Department.)
Original Story
Crestline, CA – Authorities now believe the report of a man over the side of the mountain near the Crestline Bridge was an apparent false alarm based on mistaken information.
But last night about 8:30 pm. emergency crews responded and searched for several hours for any sign of the "victim" without finding any sign of the man.
Caltrans crews closed Highway 18 through The Narrows for a little over an hour to reduce the risk to searchers.
Caltrans crews were called to close The Narrows on Highway 18 near Crestline Friday night for a rescue operation that turned out to be a false alarm. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)
"It appears at this time," San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Jodi Miller told RIMOFTHEWORLD.net, "to have been a case of mistaken information that summoned emergency personnel to the Crestline Bridge in foggy conditions."
Miller told RIMOFTHEWORLD.net Saturday morning that the Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue team spent several hours trying to locate the person who had been reported over the side. They were assisted by the Sheriff's Department helicopter with a hand-held heat-sensing device.
A female caller told dispatch about 8:27 p.m. that she saw a man fall off a guardrail and tumble over the side of the mountain in rocky terrain. The woman reportedly was with her daughter in a vehicle at the time she allegedly witnessed the man fall and was unable to get out of her vehicle to investigate because she would have to exit into oncoming traffic in the fog.
"Apparently the woman described a green ice chest that the man was holding when he fell," Miller explained. "Search and Rescue crews did locate an ice chest about 100-feet down the hillside but it appeared to have been in place for quite some time."
As a precaution, the Sheriff's Department Aviation Unit was scheduled to check the area Saturday morning once fog in the area lifted.
Crest Forest Fire personnel, California Highway Patrol officers and San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies participated in the call along with Caltrans workers who closed The Narrows between the Crestline Bridge and Crest Forest Drive in Arrowhead Highlands.
See Alert.
