Searchers on Sunday scoured trails and more on El Cajon Mountain, looking for a hiker missing since his trek Saturday, a sheriff’s official said.
Someone reported the man missing shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday, Lt. Dave Perkins said. He said the department activated its Search and Rescue team, and sent a helicopter to search El Capitan County Preserve. Park rangers were also joined the search.
The hiker’s car was found in the area, Perkins said. He did not answer his phone, Perkins said, but his phone pinged a cell tower in the area.
Teams searched until darkness Sunday night, with plans to return at 7 a.m. to continue looking for the missing man.
Temperatures at the summit — roughly 3,300 feet — hit a high of 80 degrees Saturday and 77 degrees Sunday. The overnight low was 66 degrees, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Sebastian Westerink.
He said lower elevations — roughly 400 feet — near El Monte Road reached 90 degrees Saturday, and dropped to an overnight low of 51. Sunday’s high there was 86 degrees.
El Capitan County Preserve features about 11 miles of trails, which a county parks webpage says provide “a rugged route along a granite-ribbed ridgeline with stunning views of both ocean and mountain.” The county webpage also notes the hike is “strenuous and can easily take up to 6 hours to complete,” with “very little shade along the way.”