The body of an El Monte woman who disappeared while hiking alone on Mount Baldy was recovered Sunday morning, ending a treacherous weeklong search, authorities said.
Lifei “Ada” Huang, 22, went missing about two hours after a solo hike on Feb. 4, just as last week's worst storms on record hit Southern California, according to the county Sheriff-Coroner's Department. of San Bernardino.
Lifei “Ada” Huang, 22, went missing about two hours after a solo hike on Feb. 4 on Mount Baldy.
(Lifei Huang)
Huang was reported missing shortly before midnight; Rescuers went out to look for her around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 5, but “extreme” risks of snowfall and avalanches hampered her efforts, authorities said.
Three other hikers were rescued on February 7 after being trapped by storms the previous day on Bear Canyon Trail.
“Resources are stretched and hikers who get lost may have to wait long periods of time before help is available,” the Sheriff's Department had warned.
Mt. Baldy has become one of the country's deadliest destinations for hikers, racking up dozens of rescues and nearly a dozen deaths in recent years. The Sheriff's Department has pushed to limit access to the summit.
But Huang was an experienced adventurer, as her Instagram page shows.
I had recently hiked the Wave, a difficult and sometimes dangerous rock formation in the Arizona desert. He enjoyed camping on the beach in Santa Cruz, stargazing in Joshua Tree, and snowboarding in the San Gabriel Mountains.
His friends posted notes on his page praying that he would be home to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
On Saturday, the Sheriff's Department received a tip that someone flying a drone may have seen Huang's body near San Antonia Creek Falls.
Strong winds prevented the air rescue team from searching the area until the early hours of Sunday, when doctors located Huang's remains.
