Rescued hiker faces investigation over where he was found, California officials say
A lost California hiker’s troubles seemed to be over after his rescue Tuesday from the Angeles National Forest in Southern California.
But 45-year-old Rene Compean, who was found with the help of a satellite map buff using a photo Compean earlier sent a friend, now faces a criminal investigation by the U.S. Forest Service.
Rescuers found the Palmdale man deep inside a restricted burn area left by the 115,000-acre Bobcat Fire in September, The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported.
“We hesitate to use criminal action, as we don’t want to discourage people from calling for help when needed,” Capt. Russ Tuttle of the Angeles National Forest told the publication. “However, people need to know these areas are closed for their safety.”
Compean could face up to six months in jail and a $10,000 fine if charged and convicted of illegally entering a closed fire zone, KTTV reported.
“I feel it’s, like, very discouraging,” Compean told The San Gabriel Valley Tribune. “It makes me feel like (I) shouldn’t have texted and I should’ve found my way out back on my own. I probably would have struggled more, but I’d rather be dealing with that.”
He told the publication he didn’t see any signs warning hikers to stay out of the area and would have stopped if he had.
Compean got lost while hiking in the national forest near Los Angeles on Monday, McClatchy News previously reported.
He had earlier sent a friend a photo of his soot-covered legs dangling over a canyon, then texted that he was lost and his phone batteries were dying. Compean did not have his phone’s GPS turned on.
On Tuesday, searchers released the photo Compean had sent in hopes that someone could identify where it was taken. Benjamin Kuo, who scrutinizes satellite photos for a hobby, sent rescuers some possible coordinates.
“I love taking a look at photos and figuring out where they’re taken,” Kuo told KNBC.
A rescue helicopter spotted Compean on a ridge less than a mile from the coordinates provided by Kuo and took him to safety.
“I really don’t know if I could make it there another day,” Compean told KNBC after his rescue. “It was just so cold.”
The Bobcat Fire, which erupted Sept. 6, blackened more than 180 square miles and destroyed 170 structures, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported.
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