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Efforts by search and rescue personnel to locate missing hiker William Ewasko entered their sixth day on Thursday. Teams of agency and volunteer ground searchers continue to comb the Quail Mountain area of Joshua Tree National Park in an effort to locate the Marietta, Georgia resident who was first reported missing last Friday. Today’s objectives call for ground search teams to work the sectors of Juniper Flats and Quail Springs located to the east and north of the Quail Mountain summit. The weather forecast for the area is for sunny skies with a high temperature near 106 degrees. Winds of 12-15 mph with gusts to 21 are predicted for the afternoon. Approximately 30 people are involved with today’s search effort.They include Desert Search & Rescue from Riverside County and Sierra Madre Mountain Rescue from Los Angeles County, Morongo Basin Search & Rescue and RIMSAR from the Big Bear/Lake Arrowhead area, and Joshua Tree Search & Rescue, which is affiliated with Joshua Tree National Park. National Park Service and Riverside County Sheriffs Office personnel continue to coordinate the search effort with additional support from the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office. To date, over 102 volunteer searchers have contributed 1,100 ground search hours in addition to efforts by trained dog teams, equestrian searchers, and helicopters from the California Highway Patrol and Riverside County Sheriffs Office. Hundreds of additional man-hours have been dedicated to the search effort by support staff. |
Last updated: February 28, 2015