Lifei Huang: California woman who disappeared while hiking on Mount Baldy found dead nearly a week later
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: A California woman has been found dead after she disappeared while hiking on Mount Baldy nearly a week ago, authorities said. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, the US Forest Service said the body of Lefei Huang, 22, was spotted by a citizen flying a drone on Saturday, February 10.
Huang was reported missing on February 4 after loved ones lost contact with her during the hike. Crews were initially unable to reach the spot where Huang was supposedly located due to adverse conditions on the mountain, but “stayed the night near the location to preserve the scene.”
When was Lifei Huang found dead?
Sheriff’s Air Rescue 306 lowered medics down to the location where Huang was found dead at about 7.45 am local time Sunday, February 11. “We never blamed her for doing this,” Huang’s cousin Ally Zhang previously told ABC station KABC-TV. “We don't think that she wanted this to happen,” Zhang added.
The SBCSD thanked everyone who “aided in the search,” including the citizen who alerted the US Forest Department about spotting the body.
What did the officials say?
Officials with the City of El Monte, where Huang lived, also thanked the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and the Forest Service “for their unwavering dedication in the rescue efforts.” “Our hearts go out to the Huang family during this difficult time as the El Monte community comes together to grieve the loss of Lifei,” city officials added.
The SBCSD is now “strongly” urging people to avoid mountain activities as the state of California faces continued inclement weather. And with resources "stretched to their limits," hikers who may get lost in these conditions "may have to wait long periods of time before help is available," SBCSD added.
“The weather has effectively buried the mountain in snow and it is highly likely hikers will get into trouble,” the department said.
New York police identifies woman found dead in hotel with cuts on her face
Meaww previously reported that police recently identified the 38-year-old woman who was found dead with a bloody iron next to her head in a Manhattan hotel. In another development, the son of the woman has revealed she had been 'nervous' in the days leading up to her death.
Denisse Oleas-Arancibia was found in her room by a maid at SoHo 54 Hotel around 10.30 am on Thursday, February 8. Police found her unconscious and unresponsive with trauma to her face, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Arancibia's 18-year-old son Edwin Cevallos said the last time he spoke to his mother was the day before she died. He said he had noticed something different about her in the week prior to the tragedy.
"In the week before she was like, sad. She was so nervous and she was worried,'' Cevallos told the New York Daily News in Spanish, though he's not sure if that had any connection to her death.
