The search for an Irvine man who went missing during a hike on Mt. Baldy resumed Wednesday, with seven search and rescue volunteers taking to the mountain, aided by San Bernardino County sheriff's helicopters.
Sreenivas "Sree" Mokkapati, 52, got separated from three other hikers during a trek from Bear Flats at 4,000 feet to the 10,000-foot Mt. Baldy summit on Sunday. He was reported missing the same day.
The volunteers on Wednesday were from San Bernardino, San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said. They will search for any sign of Mokkapati and his direction of travel, deputies said.
Mokkapati was last seen wearing a gray, puffy jacket and gray pants and was prepared for a day hike. Snow on the mountain starts around the 7,000-foot level. The Bear Flats hike to the summit is steeper and more difficult than other routes, and less taken.
One sheriff's helicopter will primarily be used to take rescue volunteers to specific points on the mountain.
On Tuesday, there were two unrelated helicopter rescues of injured hikers on the mountain, both of them near the steep-sided Devil's Backbone trail, north of the Baldy summit.
The sheriff's department confirmed Wednesday at around 7 p.m. that areas near the Mt. Baldy peak would be temporarily closed, starting Thursday, while search and rescue teams continued their search.
"While searching for a missing hiker, sheriff resources have been diverted multiple times to rescue other hikers who are unprepared to be hiking in snow and ice," the department said.
The area would be closed to everyone except search and rescue teams, people with a permit from the National Forest Service and owners of land or residents within the closure area.
Officials noted the closure would be in effect from Thursday until Dec. 31.
Staff writer Robert Gundran contributed to this story.
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