Authorities recover body of missing 22-year-old California hiker Lifei Huang
Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Authorities in California over the weekend recovered the body of a hiker who went missing earlier this month.
The San Bernadino County Sheriff's Office said the body of Lifei Huang, 22, was airlifted Sunday from Mt. Baldy -- where she went missing after hiking alone a week earlier on Feb. 4.
On Saturday, the U.S. Forestry Department notified the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office that somebody with a drone may have spotted Huang when officials responded to the area of upper San Antonio Creek Falls.
Search and rescue teams had to stay on the scene through Sunday morning due to heavy snowfall and risk of avalanches when teams resumed search and rescue efforts at around 7:45 a.m. PST when they found Huang's body.
Huang told friends and family she was going hiking around 2 p.m. right before bad weather had made its way to a large swath of the state.
She was not heard from for two hours and crews began searching for her early Monday morning but couldn't locate her.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office said they "strongly urge" the public to stay away from mountain activities during inclement weather, saying it can effectively bury a mountain in snow.
"Resources are stretched to their limits and hikers who get lost may have to wait long periods of time before help is available," the sheriff's office added.
