Missing hiker airlifted near Strawberry Peak after overnight search

A lost, wet and exhausted hiker who went missing Monday morning was airlifted out of an area near Strawberry Peak early Tuesday following an overnight search.

On Monday at 8:20 p.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Crescenta Valley station received a report of a hiker who went missing near Strawberry Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, about 10 miles north of Pasadena.

The hiker, described as a 50-year-old deaf man with diminished mental capacity, was separated from his group and had last been seen about 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Montrose Search and Rescue, Sierra Madre Search and Rescue and Altadena Mountain Rescue Team crews deployed to search the area overnight.

With the help of a scent dog, a crew member and a paramedic located the hiker at 12:53 a.m. Tuesday near a trail to the Strawberry Meadows area.

The missing hiker was found clinging to a tree about 500 feet over the side of the snow-covered trail, officials said. He was cold, wet and exhausted.

Another crew from the San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team also responded, and an L.A. County Fire Dept. helicopter was used to airlift the man out of the area early Tuesday morning. He was transported to a local hospital.