Lost hiker rescued on top of Mt. Baldy

Published: November 28, 2005 | 2856th good news item since 2003

A woman who got lost and spent the night on top of Mt. Baldy in freezing temperatures was found Sunday by volunteers from the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue team. [Death, Daring, & Disaster : Search and Rescue in the National Parks]

Pamela Susslin of Los Feliz said she wanted to take a hike for her birthday, and had hiked Baldy before. This time, though, she said she wasn’t paying attention and got lost.

“It’s a cold, treacherous, nasty mountain and if you get off-track, it’s not easy to get back,” she said.

Using her cell phone, she called a friend, who then told authorities she was lost.

A deputy contacted Susslin by phone and instructed her on how to stay warm, said Dick Sale, senior operations leader with the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue team. [cell phones]

Members of Sierra Madre’s team, along with San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputies and a volunteer team from San Dimas, began searching for Susslin on Saturday night.

“When you’re on top of Baldy, there’s not much in the way of identification unless you know your direction,” Sale said. “She thought she was going toward the right way, but she kind of got turned around a little bit.”

Art Fortini and Susan McCureary of the Sierra Madre team found Susslin about 1:30 p.m. Sunday over the north fork of Lytle Creek, Sale said.

After being examined by paramedics, rescue personnel concluded Susslin didn’t need to be hospitalized and took her to her car, Jurcak said.

She was cold, hungry and thirsty, but fine.

“She was in good spirits,” Sale said. “She was very lucky … She was in good shape.”

Susslin, who is an actress, declined to state her age, but she definitely did not think this would be her last birthday celebration, she said.

“It was my birthday, and I thought, “I can’t die on my birthday,’” she said.

Susslin said she learned a lot, and she was very grateful to the team that saved her.

“They were trooping through the night, and I had no idea,” she said. “They were incredible.”

Published in Rescues
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