Authorities have confirmed the recovery of three hikers who went missing after jumping into Rattlesnake Falls in California last week.
The men, identified as Matthew Schoenecker of Los Angeles, Matthew Anthony of New York City, and Valentino Creus, also of Los Angeles, were part of
a larger hiking group exploring the remote Soda Springs area on Wednesday, June 18.
According to reports, the three entered the water at Rattlesnake Falls and failed to resurface. Continues…
The rest of the group, stranded in the difficult terrain, had to be rescued by helicopter the following day.
Placer ounty Sheriff’s Office responded to the initial emergency call around 3 p.m. on Wednesday and immediately launched a large-scale search and rescue operation.
Multiple agencies were involved, including the Sheriff’s Dive Team, CAL FIRE’s Technical Rescue Team, and a CHP helicopter unit.
“This is an extremely remote and rugged area, which has made rescue efforts especially challenging,” officials said in a statement at the time.
Poor weather and hazardous conditions forced a temporary suspension of the search on Thursday, but limited operations resumed on Friday. A full-scale search resumed Sunday,
June 22, when conditions improved enough to allow for enhanced equipment and support from mutual aid partners, according to USA Today.
