An injured Yucca Valley motorcycle rider was rescued Thursday night after he became lost in the desert south of Yucca Valley. According to a Sheriff’s report, Chad Smithling, 48, was riding his motorcycle in the desert south of Kickapoo Avenue Thursday afternoon with a group of friends. When the group returned to town, Chad Smithling had not returned and was missing. Smithing had crashed his bike earlier in the day and injured his ribs. Smithing’s fellow riders searched for him for several hours, but when they could not find him, they contacted the Sheriff’s Department about 5:45 p.m. Patrol deputies, the Morongo Basin Search and Rescue team, Joshua Tree National Park rangers, and Sheriff’s aviation were called in to search for Smithling. Shortly before 10 p.m., Smithling was located by Sheriff’s aviation. The helicopter landed and took Smithling aboard and he was flown to the California Highway Patrol helicopter pad, where Chad Smithling was transported to High Desert Medical Center by ambulance for dehydration and injury to his ribs, and later released.
