SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A hiker reported missing in the East County over the weekend was found dead, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
Sheriff’s officials said the 40-year-old man started his hike at El Cajon Mountain in Lakeside at around 8 a.m. Saturday on a trailhead in the 13700 block of Blue Sky Ranch Road.
The following day, family members contacted the sheriff’s office to report him missing after he never returned.
Groups consisting of the sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit, Search and Rescue volunteers, and sheriff’s deputies and detectives searched the area for several hours on Sunday. The sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter also helped with the search from the air.
At around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the body of the missing hiker was discovered near one of the hiking trails just east of the trailhead, officials said.
According to sheriff’s officials, “The body has been turned over to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. The Medical Examiner will make a positive identification of the man, as well as determine the cause and manner of death pending notification of his family.”
