Three men from Sacramento rescued from rocks in Desolation Wilderness

A CHP helicopter crew and rescue personnel with mountain climbing experience had to be called upon the get three young people from Sacramento off a rocky Sierra Nevada outcropping.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office got a cell phone call for help in the early morning hours Saturday from the three stranded hikers. They were on a ledge in the Desolation Wilderness and could not safely go up or down.

Around daylight, the CHP crew lifted off from Auburn Municipal Airport and found James Lerude, 20, Todd Syper, Jr., 20, and Kayly O’Connor, 23, on their rocky perch. There was no suitable landing spot for the chopper and winds were 50 mph, gusting to 60 mph.

The decision was made to lower rescue personnel from the helicopter to the three. Once that was accomplished, each hiker was lowered to safety by rescuers with climbing rope skills.

The trio, once off the outcropping, hiked out with the rescue personnel. All three were cold but did not have major injuries.

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