Two Lizard’s Mouth Hikers Rescued
Search and Rescue Team, Firefighters Carried One Injured Person to Safety
Saturday evening shortly after sunset, a mother and her adult son lost their way while hiking out of Lizard’s Mouth trail just north of Goleta. The two were unable to find their way back to West Camino Cielo Road, where they’d parked their car. In the darkness, the mother twisted her ankle and could go no further, as stated in a Sheriff’s Office press release.
At about 5:20 p.m., 9-1-1 dispatchers received a call from the hikers and paged Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue (SBCSAR) Team members. The rescuers spoke with the hikers via cell phone and used a SBCSAR phone app to determine their GPS coordinates. Then, SBCSAR sent in a rescue crew to find the mother and son. Upon locating them, rescuers and an engine crew from County Fire “spent about an hour and a half” carrying the injured mother on a stretcher to safety, according to the Sheriff’s Office press release. In the same release, SBCSAR reminded hikers to always be prepared for an emergency and to visit www.sbcsar.org for hiking safety tips.
