Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Jan. 13, 2019, at about 6:10 p.m., California State Parks and CAL FIRE were dispatched to Patrick’s Point State Park for the report of a hiker in need of medical assistance. According to the reporting party, a 33-year-old female Arcata resident was hiking off-trail between Wedding Rock and Mussel Rock when she reportedly fell several feet into a crevasse.

State Parks and CAL FIRE began searching for the female, however due to treacherous terrain, dangerous conditions and darkness, the search was temporarily suspended at about 10 p.m. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was notified of this incident at about 9:30 p.m.

Ground search crews and a U. S. Coast Guard helicopter began searching for the hiker again on January 14 at 8 a.m. At about 12 p.m., search teams located the female deceased in a crevasse within the search area and began recovery efforts.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the following agencies for their search and recovery efforts: CAL FIRE, California State Parks, Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue, Eel River Technical Rescue and the U.S. Coast Guard.