LOST HIKER IN MORONGO VALLEY RESCUED BY HELICOPTER

A lost hiker was rescued by a Sheriff’s helicopter crew Saturday night in Morongo Valley. Sheriff’s Sergeant Mike Landavazo said Bonnie Smith, 65, from Riverside county had been hiking in Big Morongo Canyon Preserve Saturday afternoon with two bottles of water. Family and friends reported her missing to the Bureau of Land Management, who in turn, notified the Morongo Valley Fire Department at 7:42 p.m. Morongo Valley Interim Chief Andrew Arthen said firefighters from Morongo Valley and CalFire hiked into the preserve, while a Sheriff’s helicopter searched from the air using a forward-looking infrared imaging system. The Sheriff’s helicopter crew located Smith at 9:15 p.m. about four miles south of the Canyon Trail. Arthen said the helicopter landed to pick up Smith, and brought her back to the parking lot at the preserve. A little weak and dehydrated, Smith was taken by ambulance to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs as a precaution.