ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST — Authorities rescued a hiker from a rugged area of Eaton Canyon early Thursday after he spent the night in below-freezing temperatures, officials said.
Shannon Baxter, 40, was rescued from the canyon about 7:30 a.m. after going missing Wednesday evening, Lt. Jack Ewell of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Aero Bureau said in a written statement.
“Mr. Baxter survived overnight temperatures in the 20s while huddling next to some logs and wearing a cotton work jacket and jeans,” he said.
Baxter was visiting the area from Washington and hiking with his son on Chaney Trail north of Altadena Wednesday afternoon when the father had trouble continuing on, the lieutenant said.
The son, a Santa Clarita man, left him behind to seek help, the lieutenant said. When the father had not been found by 3 a.m. Thursday morning, the worried son called authorities.
When officials reached Baxter about four and a half hours later, Ewell said, they flew him out of the forest by helicopter and treated him for mild hypothermia and a pre-existing respiratory problem.