SAN DIEGO -- Friends and family Thursday were mourning a married 67-year-old Rancho San Diego man who collapsed and died while climbing Cowles Mountain.

A group of fellow hikers found Raymond Newsom Mathias Jr. passed out on a path on the mountain in Mission Trails Regional Park shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and called 911, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

Witnesses said Mathias was on his second or third trip up the mountain when he collapsed, the Medical Examiner's Office reported.

One of the hikers who found Mathias performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until a city helicopter crew arrived over the area and lowered a medic to the ground so he could take over the revival efforts, San Diego fire-rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said.

Mathias was pronounced dead at the scene about 4 p.m., Luque said.

There were no signs of trauma, foul play or suspicious circumstances, according to the Medical Examiner's Office. The cause of death was pending.

The high temperature on the western side of the mountain Wednesday was 87 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.