Three Hikers Found Dead on Mount Baldy’s Devil’s Backbone Trail Amid Rescue Attempts
Three hikers were found dead on Mount Baldy’s Devil’s Backbone trail on December 29, 2025, after wind conditions prevented helicopter rescue attempts.
A 19-year-old caller alerted authorities, reporting that their friend had fallen about 500 feet down a remote mountainside and provided GPS coordinates to assist rescue efforts.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced that the identities of the victims had not been released as of Tuesday, and the cause of death was not immediately known.
A rescue helicopter located the injured hiker along with two others, but strong winds prevented the helicopter from landing. A second landing attempt also failed. A medic was hoisted down and found all three dead at approximately 7:30 pm.
Mount Baldy, which rises over 10,000 feet and is located just east of Los Angeles, is known for its Devil’s Backbone trail.
This site is near where actor Julian Sands died in January 2023; his body was discovered five months after he went missing.
In the same month as Sands’ disappearance, 15 hikers on Mount Baldy were lost, injured, or died.
In October 2025, three 20-year-old men were rescued near Devil’s Backbone after getting lost, all without injuries.
Additionally, on the same day as the latest incident, two other hikers aged 18 and 31 were rescued from another Mount Baldy trail, one suffering an injury after falling more than 100 feet.
