Search For Missing MNP Hiker Suspended

Mojave National Preserve
National Park News

On the evening of Sunday, June 8th, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call reporting an overdue 67-year-old hiker from the Philippines who had last been seen by her hiking companion at Fort Piute on the evening of June 7th.

Rangers and deputies interviewed the reporting party, then conducted a hasty search of Piute Canyon with ground teams and an infrared-vision-equipped helicopter. She was not found.

An interagency search was conducted through Friday, June 13th, with up to 50 searchers employed each day. Also employed in the effort were helicopters and as many as six search dogs. The canyon is steep and narrow, with ledges and rugged terrain, and daytime temperatures were over 100 degrees, although there is water in the canyon.

The search has been suspended, but the investigation continues.

Search for missing hiker continues

ABBY SEWELL Staff Writer
Victoville Daily Press

PIUTE CANYON — Searchers continued to comb the Piute Canyon area in the Mojave National Preserve on foot and from the air Tuesday for a sign of a missing 67-year-old woman.

Maria Estrada became separated from her 64-year-old male hiking companion in a section of the Mojave National Preserve about 40 miles northwest of Needles on Saturday, according to reports from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the National Parks Service. Her friend reported her missing on Sunday. Search and rescue teams began looking for her that night.

Although Estrada was not carrying food or water, Sgt. Tim Smith with the Colorado River Station of the sheriff’s department said there is water in the canyon area. Search teams have not given up hope of finding the lost hiker alive, he said.

Estrada and her companion separated at a fork in the trail to look for their vehicle, which they both thought was located in different directions, Smith said. When Estrada did not return as promised, her companion began searching on his own but waited until the following day to report her missing.

About 22 searchers from the sheriff’s department and the park service were covering the canyon on Tuesday, along with search dogs and a county helicopter.

Smith said that Estrada, who is from the Philippines, had been staying with family in Blythe for about four months. She was last seen wearing a white long-sleeved blouse, denim shorts, white tennis shoes and a denim “San Luis Obispo” cap, according to a report from the National Parks Service.

To report any information on Estrada’s location, call the Colorado River Station at 760-326-9200.