Final minutes with missing hiker haunt California man: ‘I keep reliving that moment’
The search for a hiker who went missing in the mountains of Southern California last weekend continued on Friday, as a companion recalled the final moments before the hiker vanished.
Sreenivas “Sree” Mokkapati, a 52-year-old from Irvine in Orange County, disappeared on Sunday morning while trekking up Mt. Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies said in an update Friday that 73 search and rescue volunteers from 10 counties across California were pitching in to look for Mokkapati.
“Air support is limited to patrolling the mountain,” deputies said Friday. “High winds have restricted the helicopters from inserting search teams at the higher elevations.”
The U.S. Forest Service temporarily closed areas of Mt. Baldy on Thursday to target resources exclusively on finding Mokkapati. Those areas will remain off limits until Dec. 31, or until Mokkapati is found, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
“Mokkapati is considered an experienced hiker and has hiked Mount Baldy a number of times,” deputies wrote in an earlier update. “He was prepared for a day hike and has limited supplies.”
Justin Williams, one of the last people to see Mokkapati before his disappearance, told NBC Los Angeles that “I wish I would have been like, no, you can’t do it, man — you’re going to die.”
Williams said he feels “horrible,” and that he’d just met Mokkapati that morning.
Williams shared a photo with the TV station that captures the moment when Mokkapati pressed on four miles into the hike when Williams said he had to turn around with the others amid difficult conditions.
“I keep reliving that moment in my mind,” Williams told NBC Los Angeles. “He mutters something — I didn’t quite hear what he said — and then he just kept walking.”
Mokkapati’s disappearance came after he and three other hikers set out from the Village at Bear Flats early Sunday planning to summit Mt. Baldy — but at some point Mokkapati was separated from the group, and his companions called for help once they returned to their car, the Sheriff’s Department said. He was last seen in a puffy gray jacket and gray pants.
Deputies said earlier this week that there was snow above 7,000 feet in the mountains and that it’s waist deep in some high-elevation areas.
“While searching for a missing hiker, sheriff resources have been diverted multiple times to rescue other hikers who are unprepared to be hiking in snow and ice,” a local emergency management team said on Twitter.
A vigil was held for Mokkapati on Wednesday night in Upland.
“We know how strong he is and what he can do to survive,” said Luc Lemans, a colleague of his, according to KTLA.
Rescue teams have found several other injured or stranded hikers during their hunt for Mokkapati, KABC reported.
“It was heartbreaking to find out it wasn’t my father,” said Shravan Mokkapati, his son, according to KABC. “But I know the volunteers are doing their best. They’re doing whatever they can to help find my father.”
San Bernardino County search and rescue team member Cindy Lyman advised any hikers braving wintry conditions to be well prepared — particularly for challenging, dangerous trails, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“If you add snow and ice, those trails just disappear, and it is very dangerous,” Lyman said of Mt. Baldy, according to the newspaper.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Final minutes with missing hiker haunt California man: ‘I keep reliving that moment’."
