After a group of four hikers got lost Saturday in a remote, mountainous region of Riverside County, a fellow member of their group, fearing for their safety, set out alone to look for them, authorities said.
The four hikers were later found and rescued by units from the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. But the man who went to help them was found dead at the foot of a 150-foot rock face.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said they received a call at 8:26 p.m. Saturday about the group of missing hikers near State Route 74 in Anza. The department's aviation and mountain rescue units were called in. The initial group of four missing hikers were located by air and rescuers hoisted them to safety.
The department continued the search and found the other hiker at the bottom of the steep vertical stretch of rock. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The surviving hikers were taken to the sheriff's Lake Hemet mountain station for medical evaluation. His condition was not immediately known.
The county coroner's office has taken over the investigation into the hiker's death. The department has not released the name of the deceased hiker.
