By Richard Chang
rchang@sacbee.com
A volunteer with the U.S. Forest Service was found late Sunday after going missing for over 24 hours.
Christopher Chaloupka, 65, of Shingle Springs was conducting maintenance work on trails in a mountainous region east of Placerville, when he was reported missing by his fellow volunteers Saturday evening. Various search and rescue personnel from local, state and federal agencies were involved in the search for the missing man.
According to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, Chaloupka was found "exhausted, dehydrated, and unable to walk" by a mutual aid search team at 9:05 p.m. on Sunday. Sgt. James Byers, with the sheriff's office, said that Chaloupka was transported by air to a forest service ranger station before being driven to the Marshall Medical Center in Placerville, which reported that Chaloupka had been treated and released.
The family declined comment to The Bee.
El Dorado County is not new to search and rescue operations. Byers notes that the county is one of the busiest for search and rescues in California.
"We probably have a search and rescue operation every week during the summer," he said.









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