‘A happy ending.’ Fresno deputies locate missing man, sons in Sierra National Forest
A Hanford man and his two young sons were found Thursday morning after going missing the previous night in the Sierra National Forest, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
Hanford police informed the sheriff’s office late Wednesday that the father and his boys, who are believed to be 3 and 5, had not returned from a trip up in the mountains and had been reported missing, according to Tony Botti, the spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.
Their names were not available on Thursday.
Search and rescue crews and volunteers headed into the forest in a number of locations the man and his children may have hiked, Botti said. The man drove into the forest, but Botti could not immediately say how he got stranded.
A sheriff’s helicopter that went out during the daylight hours Thursday spotted the family near Dinkey Creek and Rock Creek Road, deputies said, and the crew was able to speak to the father over a loudspeaker. The father gave the crew a thumbs up as a sign that he and the boys are in good health.
Botti said at 9 a.m. it would take about an hour for ground crews to reach the man and his boys. The helicopter could not land in the area.
“Search and rescue and volunteers went out there looking all night,” Botti said. “So, happy ending.”
