FRESNO, Calif. – Rescue crews searched the central Sierra Nevada on Wednesday for nine teenagers and two adult hikers missing in a rugged area of the mountains.
The teens, ages 13 to 16, and two 30-year-old adult guides did not meet up with a third guide as planned on Saturday, Fresno County authorities said. The group was on a two-week Outward Bound adventure.
A Fresno County Search and Rescue Team, volunteer mountaineers, rescuers on horseback and a helicopter were searching the area, which has an elevation of 9,000 to 10,000 feet.
The group set out June 14 for a hiking and climbing trip in a mountainous area of the Sierra National Forest about 10 miles west of Kings Canyon National Park. They had supplies to last them through Friday, according to the Fresno County sheriff's office.
A guide who separated from the group Saturday to scout a possible climb returned to a rendezvous point later in the day, but the group never arrived. He spent two days searching on his own before reporting them missing.
The teenagers, who were not identified, came from all over the country to participate in the trip, the sheriff's office said. Their parents have been notified, authorities said.
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