A hiker from Brooklyn, N.Y., was lost but then found in El Dorado County's Desolation Wilderness area.
Chris Major, 38, went hiking Sunday in the Desolation Wilderness area with three friends. They set out from Echo Lakes Lodge for a hike to Lake Aloha and then Lake of the Woods.
At Lake of the Woods, they voluntarily separated, according to a press release from the El Dorado County Sheriff's office. Major was the only hiker who didn't return to the group's vehicle parked at Echo Lakes Lodge, prompting one of the friends to call deputies at 6 p.m. Sunday.
Deputies responded and called in Volunteer Search and Rescue. On Monday morning, searchers and a California Highway Patrol helicopter continued to look for Major.
About 9:20 a.m. Monday, deputies got word that Major had texted a friend. He apparently texted that he had met up with some hikers and that he was still in Desolation Wilderness.
Eventually, searchers were able to speak with Major by cell phone. At 10:37 a.m., searchers met with Major in the back country and escorted him out.
He had minor cuts and abrasions from climbing through brush and over rocks, according to deputies. He told searchers that he had started a campfire overnight to keep warm and came across the hikers in the morning.
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