Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Home safe

Ultrarunners are amazing people. They came from all over Southern CA to aid SAR in the search for Gina. Some who know Gina, some who don't. But all with a common goal. To find two of our own, Gina and Fidel, and return them safely to their loved ones. Charlie found Fidel's truck. Trail Headz, Bad Rats, OCTR and more were embedded with the SAR teams providing valuable knowledge of the rugged terrain.

The story has a happy ending; Fidel walked out on his own in amazingly good shape for having spent 3 days in the mountains; Gina was spotted by a helicopter 5 hours later, in bad shape but alive and anxious to get out on the trails again....

Welcome home Gina and Fidel! Rest, get better and tell your story so we can all learn from your experience.

Lost on Los Pinos....


Fellow ultrarunner Gina Natera and her brother-in-law Fidel Diaz went out Sunday for a 6-8 hour run, probably on the Los Pinos trail in the Cleveland National Forest, and never came back. Their cars have been found, they have not. This morning the search for them begins in earnest with dog teams, SAR personnel... and the local untrarunning community who know the trails better than anyone and have ideas as to where they may have been heading.
Gina and Fidel: my thoughts and prayers are with you. Hang in there. Help is on it's way.