Stranded Hikers Rescued by Sheriff's Deputies

TEMECULA - Two men who got lost hiking a mountain trail in the Cleveland National Forest, west of Temecula, are home safe today, thanks to a Riverside County sheriff's air crew.

The hikers, one from Irvine and the other from Murrieta, were located Sunday night after an hourlong search, according to sheriff's Sgt. Jon Wade.

The men went for an evening excursion that began at the Dripping Springs Campground.

''Both hikers had gone up the hill ill-prepared for the darkness and claimed the trail became harder to follow due to poor markings,'' Wade said. ''They couldn't find their way down and notified a friend, who called the sheriff's department for assistance.''

Deputies, park rangers and Riverside County fire personnel went to the campground and attempted to guide the pair down after making contact via mobile phone. A sheriff's helicopter crew spotted the hikers on a plateau shortly before 10 p.m. and hoisted them to safety, according to Wade.

Neither man was injured.

The air rescue followed the successful recovery on Saturday afternoon of a woman who injured herself while hiking a trail on Marion Mountain near Idyllwild.

The Riverside County Mountain Rescue unit found the hiker and transported her to safety. She was hospitalized for a non-life-threatening injury, according to sheriff's officials.