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A simple family hike through the hills above Pepperdine turned into an ordeal that lasted over eight hours after fog rolled in and left School of Law Professor Roger Alford, his children and friends stranded.
Alford’s family along with a family visiting the Alford’s from Texas, about eight people in all, left for a hike around 5 p.m. March 9. Soon after, fog rolled in and at 11 p.m. that night the hikers were reported missing by Alford’s wife, Leslie.
After the hikers were reported missing a search and rescue team was sent out with members of Department of Public Safety, Pepperdine’s Fire Department, The Los Angeles Sheriffs Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Public Safety Sergeant Alex Ghazalpour was one of the first people on the scene. He said they first wanted to see if the rental van the hikers were using was still where they had left it, on Via de Casa on campus. The van was still there, which confirmed that the group was still in the mountains.
Patrick Smith, part of Pepperdine’s Fire Department, was a member of one of the three three-person crews that went to search for the hikers. He was told the family was heading for a helispot, a helicopter landing site, and so his crew headed for the site. Before leaving they also set up floodlights and spotlights to give the hikers something to walk to.
“We found a toy gun on the trail that turned out to be one of the children’s, so we knew we were going the right way,” Smith said.
Smith said between 3 and 4 a.m. another search team was able to establish verbal communication with the family and later found them. He said they had found some sort of one-room garage for shelter.
After the family was found, the crews began the long journey back through the fog.
“When we came down the mountain … I’ll never forget this, one of the little kids comes up to me,” Smith said. “He was probably around 8 years old, and he holds out his hand for me to shake and says ‘thank you.’”
Submitted 03-31-2005
MALIBU, CA
