Hiker dies in fall from fixed-roped section of Mount Wilson Trail

May 3-A hiker died on Saturday after falling from a fixed-rope portion of a trail, the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team said.

Early Saturday afternoon, dispatchers received a call about a male hiker who fell from the Mount Wilson Trail, a challenging but popular hike in the San Gabriel Mountains. The 6-mile out-and-back trail takes hikers from the town of Sierra Madre to the peak of Mount Wilson.

When volunteers from the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team arrived at the scene, they were met by a helicopter from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Along with the LASD medics, they reached the hiker, who had fallen about 30 feet below the trail. According to Sierra Madre Search and Rescue, the man fell in a fixed-rope section of the trail; fixed ropes are anchors used to assist hikers in navigating climbing routes.

The hiker was deceased by the time searchers reached him, and his body was recovered in the evening, Sierra Madre Search and Rescue said. The hiker has not been identified. The Mount Wilson Trail remained closed throughout the recovery effort.

"The Team extends our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased man," Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team wrote on Facebook.

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