Father and Daughter Missing by Matt Pope | Sep 1, 2020 | Events Late in the evening we received a call out notification from the sheriffs department that a father and daughter who were backpacking were overdue. According to family, they were hiking in the area of Spanish Lake and were scheduled to be home on the afternoon of August 9th, but never showed. First thing the next morning, August 10th, we responded to the Crown Lake Trailhead. Shortly after we hit the trail, Eagle 1 (Fresno Sheriffs Helicopter) spotted the pair just West of Spanish Lake. Although the pilots were able to locate dad and daughter, they still needed an escort out since the area they were in had several areas of faintly visible and poorly marked trails. We continued riding east and in just under 2 hours located the duo. They were happy to see us and grateful that we would stay with them assuring a safe trek out to their vehicle. After a short search we were back at home the same day. A good lesson learned for these two was to know your maps well and carry a GPS as well as a satellite locator. A lot of technology today that will make your trip much much safer.
