Amador County – A lost hiker was found by a National Guard helicopter on July 4th, ending a 43-hour hunt that started two days before when a woman strayed from a trail in the Tragedy Creek area.

On Monday July 4, the search for missing 53-year-old Camarillo hiker, Lauren Ellen DeLaTorre, continued with search efforts being expanded.

Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner said at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday, a helicopter crew from the California Army National Guard, spotted DeLa Torre “several miles from her last known location in a remote area near Bear Creek.” She “was recovered and transported by helicopter to the Amador County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue Staging Area where she was medically cleared.”

DeLa Torre “was provided food and water and was then reunited with her family.” She “expressed her sincere gratitude for the tireless efforts put forth by those searching for her.”

Amador County Sheriff’s Office was notified at about 4:15 p.m. Saturday July 2 that DeLa Torre had gone missing while hiking in the Tragedy Creek area of Amador County within the El Dorado National Forest.

DeLaTorre “was hiking with a group of friends and family that were staying at a remote nearby cabin. The group separated with some of the group returning to the cabin and the others continuing on with the hike. DelaTorre initially planned to continue with the hike but then separated from that group to return to the cabin.”

Wegner said she was last seen at about 2:30 p.m., about a quarter-mile from the cabin near Tragedy Creek. “The group of family and friends conducted their own search for DeLaTorre prior to notifying the Amador County Sheriff’s Office that she was missing.

The Sheriff’s Office responded and “immediately activated the Amador County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue Team. An initial search was conducted with two teams of ground searchers, ATVs and aircraft.”

The search resumed Sunday July 3 with about 50 ground searchers from five counties’ Search and Rescue Teams, plus aircraft and canine teams participating in the search. Monday’s search expanded, with more regional help and eight county Search & Rescue Teams involved, along with other organizations.

Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan said Monday he would “like to recognize and thank those agencies that assisted with this successful rescue” including the Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, San Mateo and Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Teams; the California Highway Patrol; California Army National Guard; US Forest Service; the Red Cross; Cal Trans; the California Rescue Dog Association; and Cal EMA.

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