The body of a woman has been found in the search for a missing hiker who disappeared from a trail in San Diego after she got separated from her group during the extreme temperatures hitting the region.
Diem Le Nguyen, 50, identified by police, went missing on Sunday morning after she got separated from her hiking group of around 100 people while they were traversing the Nighthawk Trail in Black Mountain Open Space Park in north San Diego, said the San Diego Police Department.
On Monday, while a search helicopter was scanning the location, a body was spotted in the area where Nguyen was hiking, said Lieutenant Daniel Meyer, a spokesperson for the San Diego Police Department.
The police could not confirm if the body found is Nguyen, because they are still awaiting autopsy results, but they did say that the search and rescue mission has now switched status to a death investigation.
The female body was found off the trail at 9.15am, around a quarter mile from an intersection, Lieutenant Meyer said. He added that the body will be assessed by the medical examiner for identity and cause of death, but police “do believe that female to be Ms Diem.”
Nguyen set out on Sunday morning at around 8am with her hiking group when around halfway up the mountain, many decided to turn around and head back, said Lieutenant Meyer at a news conference on Monday.
The huge hiking group was part of a fundraising hike on Black Mountain to raise money for the Build a School Foundation, NBC San Diego reported.
The woman, however, decided to continue to hike to the Black Mountain’s peak, Meyer said, adding that she did that “on her own, and had nobody with her.”
Jimmy Thai, who organized the fundraising hike, also told the outlet that everyone is still in “shock” and cannot “believe what just happened.”
Just after 10am, Nguyen’s family received a phone call from her, sounding distressed and telling them she was at the end of the trail and “stating that she was very hot and needed water.” Meyer said that this was the last time anyone heard from her.
The National Weather Service warned San Diego residents of hot conditions on Sunday, with some temperatures peaking in the low 90Fs for some areas.
Not long after, at around 11.30am, police and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s helicopter responded to the scene and started a search-and-rescue mission, including drones and K9s.
When Nguyen disappeared, she was wearing a black shirt with a pink heart on the front, black pants, a sun hat, sunglasses, and a backpack, police said.
Search and rescue teams worked well into the night, spending a total of five hours in the air across seven different flights, but the search did not turn up anything until 9.15am on Monday morning.
While the medical examiner has yet to officially say if the body found is that of Nguyen, family members have already spoken about how devastated they are about the news.
“It was really sad because losing someone is not easy. It’s just not today,” family member William Do, who was on the trail searching for Nguyen when he heard the news, told NBC San Diego.
“I still can’t believe it,” Do added.
Do told the outlet that Nguyen works for the US Navy, is a mother to three adult children, and is devoted to her family and friends.
“I want people to remember she is a great person. How she always thinks about other people before herself. She always takes care of her family and friends first,” Do said.
Do said that Nguyen is a “very careful person,” and that he was “surprised to see she ran out of water. She always prepares well for what she is doing.”
The Independent has contacted the San Diego Police Department and the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office for further information.
