It was a long night for a stranded hiker, and search and rescue team members as they had to spend the night in the Los Padres National Forest during a storm.
A hiker in the forest, east of Santa Paula, realized around sunset Thursday night that he was unable to make the five hour hike back to his car. He was able to use his cell phone to call for help.
Because of the storm, there was concern about the health of the 64-year-old hiker. The Sheriff's office sent a helicopter to the area, but because of the bad weather was unable to find the Santa Paula man.
Five members of the Sheriff's Office Upper Ojai Search and Rescue team were then sent to the area. After hiking about six miles in the rain, they found the man at around 2 a.m. They gave him food, and camped with him until morning. The helicopter was able to return to fly everyone out of the backcountry. The hiker is reported to be doing okay.
