Found Deceased CA - Tim Sgrignoli, 29, Ventura, Gaviota Peak, hiker left girlfriend to get help, gf found, 4 Sept 2022

[Seni]

Search for Hiker Missing on Gaviota Trail Now in 3rd Day

Heat and rugged terrain are hampering effort to find Tim Sgrignoli, 29, of Ventura

www.noozhawk.com

For a third straight day, dozens of searchers were continuing to comb the rugged terrain below Gaviota Peak on Tuesday for any sign of missing hiker Tim Sgrignoli.

The 29-year-old Ventura man was last seen Sunday afternoon when he parted ways with his girlfriend on the Trespass Trail, a challenging 3-mile trek that starts just north of the Gaviota Tunnel and ends in a stunning viewpoint overlooking the ocean

The couple had reached the summit and had started back down when the woman began experiencing heat exhaustion amid triple-digit temperatures, Commander Erik Raney of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office told Noozhawk.

The pair developed a plan, Raney said: Sgrignoli would head downhill toward their vehicle to seek supplies and help, leaving the Ventura woman with their only cell phone and instructions to call 9-1-1 if her symptoms worsened.

The woman holed up in the shade of some rock outcroppings and caves, he said, and eventually made a call for help.

A county helicopter located her and hoisted her off the trail, then took her to nearby Fire Station 38. The woman, whose name has not been released, was treated for mild heat exhaustion, but was not hospitalized.

At that point, rescuers turned their attention to locating Sgrignoli, whom Raney described as an experienced hiker and outdoorsman.

County firefighters and sheriff’s personnel and resources — including Search & Rescue Team volunteers, K-9 units, helicopters and drones — were deployed, and the effort continued through the night with no sign of the missing man.

Extreme heat Sunday and Monday hampered the search operation, Raney said, limiting the amount of time people and dogs could search before needing a break.

He added that conditions had eased somewhat on Tuesday, with temperature highs mostly in the 80s.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Sgrignoli is a graduate of Pompano Beach High School, where he was the class valedictorian, before heading to the University of Florida. He and his girlfriend, whom fire officials rescued, now reside in California.

“Yesterday the temperature in my vehicle was over 114 degrees, that’s driving on the trail,” said a SBC officer. “If you are hiking on the trail, there’s limited shade the ground temperature is even hotter than that. Not having water and not having contact with him is our concern.”

Search continues for former Broward resident missing after California hike

As the all-out search for a missing hiker in Southern California continued Wednesday, family members here in South Florida began a cross-country journey in hopes of aiding efforts to find the man, who graduated from a local high school before moving west.

www.local10.com

 

[GuyfromCanada]

Found deceased.

"This morning one of the mutual Search and Rescue teams from San Mateo County made the discovery of Mr. Sgrinoli, unfortunately deceased," Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Commander Erik Raney told News Channel 3-12.

Tim Sgrinoli, hiker who went missing from Gaviota trail, found dead days later | News Channel 3-12

Rescue crews on Thursday morning found the body of Tim Srignoli, the hiker who went missing while hiking in Gaviota during extreme heat on Sunday afternoon.

keyt.com

 

[cvaldez1975]

i figured as much, that he has succumbed to heat, how very sad. RIP.

ETA oh no he was found right next to the freeway! did he just run out of energy or was he hit?

 

[LauraAnne]

So the witness who believed they saw him on 101, was likely right? The last line of the article is cryptic - there are "theories" as to why he was there? It sounds like he walked WAY past the parking area at the trailhead and just kept walking on the highway?

 

[YaYa_521]

Rest in peace, Tim.

 

[sleuthaloo]

Hmmmm what information?

“Sgrignoli was found about 20 feet off of the freeway, just north of the Gaviota tunnel, Raney said. The search teams were directed to that location based on the information developed over the last few days, he added.”

 

[Kimkimba]

So sad. Seems so strange he made it to the highway. Prayers for his family.

 

[annpats]

I don't understand.......why couldn't he stay with her?
They had a working cell phone, which she obviously used, to summon the helicopter.
So what did he actually go for?

 

[annpats]

"Yesterday the temperature in my vehicle was over 114 degrees, that’s driving on the trail,” said a SBC officer. “If you are hiking on the trail, there’s limited shade the ground temperature is even hotter than that'".

114°F is a whopping 45°C!!! That is absolutely blistering heat.

I really don't know anyone who could stand being out in it, much less exercising in it, and as for hiking on a 7 mile hard trail, forget it!

It's a searing, burning heat. Why would anyone go hiking in those temperatures? It happens time and time again, we've all read these stories in the news and here on websleuths.

It's not possible to carry the weight of all the water you'll need. Plus, think about your skin too! You will fry.

Stay home and do it when it's cooler. There's no hurry.

RIP to Mr. Sgrignoli.

 

[evilwise]

He thought he would be able to retrieve some water and bring it to her and they wouldn't have to inconvenience anybody but he probably left all the water they had there with her and suffered the effects of severe dehydration on the way down and became confused. I bet a lot of people feel guilty about this one.

 

[annpats]

He thought he would be able to retrieve some water and bring it to her and they wouldn't have to inconvenience anybody but he probably left all the water they had there with her and suffered the effects of severe dehydration on the way down and became confused. I bet a lot of people feel guilty about this one.

At least his girlfriend didn't mind inconveniencing anyone and phoned the rescue services.....because that's what they are there for, after all! At least he left the phone with her.

Just a sad story.

 

[youarentsilly]

He was right there. What the heck happened? I can't believe nobody saw him.

He thought he would be able to retrieve some water and bring it to her and they wouldn't have to inconvenience anybody but he probably left all the water they had there with her and suffered the effects of severe dehydration on the way down and became confused. I bet a lot of people feel guilty about this one.

The confusion is at least a worthy theory about how he was 20 feet from the 101 and didn't get help. Otherwise, I have no idea. He was right there!

 

[spiritkiss]

Its amazing how people will look and drive right past these days. I new a close friend that her car broke down at home. She felt she had to get to work and decided to walk n extreme heat. She had heat exhaustion halfway. Sat under a tree in not good shape. A fire truck stopped to check on her. Got her out of there. No one else on roadway stopped or did anything. So she could of ended up same way

 

[5W's]

Sometimes conditions are ok when you start out.

Sometimes distance out & back looks fine because you've done it before but not in the heat.

Sometimes people miscalculate water needs for the reasons above & because extra water is a burden to carry, they take a chance.

Sometimes people overestimate their physical abilities.

Sometimes people ignore their intuition & subtle warning signs (that seem obvious to others & even oneself in retrospect).

It's human nature to take risks IMO. I tried to climb a mountain in CO once. Before I got too overheated (it wasn't even a hot day but sun exposure was heavy), I turned back halfway up. I was very disappointed to miss out on my goal but suffered no injury, fortunately.

It's easy to judge - I've done it a lot in these cases, too. It's also helpful to remember risk calculation is partly learned by taking risks.

People are imperfect & even well-prepared & knowledgeable hikers sometimes run into trouble.

That's how it is. My belief is that is how it always will be.

JMO

But its best to plan ahead and be aware what the temp is going to be throughout the day, or at leat have an idea and prepare accordingly.

 

[Spyralflare]

I live in the area and it was hard to even go outside for very long that day. The heat was unbelievably intense. No idea why anyone would go hiking up there in that weather. Such a tragic ending.

 

[Coppertop15]

I live in the area and it was hard to even go outside for very long that day. The heat was unbelievably intense. No idea why anyone would go hiking up there in that weather. Such a tragic ending.

I just can't fathom it. I've been doing some resin projects outside, and I can barely make it through those.

 

[WingsOverTX]

Heat has claimed too many hikers. This is tragic.

RIP, Tim.

But its best to plan ahead and be aware what the temp is going to be throughout the day, or at leat have an idea and prepare accordingly.

August a year ago a CA family of three, including a toddler, died of heat illness on a trail system known to be unwise to travel in August. There was great debate here at WS about the WHY. In the end, it was determined to have been lack of preparedness (enough water, lack of shade) & a poor judgment call. They were so close to the end of their hike. But not close enough to avoid death.

All the "should haves" in the world won't bring them back.

My point is human fallibility is something that is not entirely mitigatible, no matter how much we may wish it to be.

And the natural consequences of being human can be a learning tool but are unlikely to prevent all mistakes.

No amount of finger wagging changes that fundamental fact in my opinion.

YMMV

 

[Spyralflare]

I got up at 7 that day to get the dog walk done early, and even walking by the shore in mostly shady areas we were moving slowly and were done in about an hour later. I guess these two were young and felt like the heat wouldn’t be so bad. A terrible thing to happen.

 

[5W's]

Heat has claimed too many hikers. This is tragic.

RIP, Tim.

August a year ago a CA family of three, including a toddler, died of heat illness on a trail system known to be unwise to travel in August. There was great debate here at WS about the WHY. In the end, it was determined to have been lack of preparedness (enough water, lack of shade) & a poor judgment call. They were so close to the end of their hike. But not close enough to avoid death.

All the "should haves" in the world won't bring them back.

My point is human fallibility is something that is not entirely mitigatible, no matter how much we may wish it to be.

And the natural consequences of being human can be a learning tool but are unlikely to prevent all mistakes.

No amount of finger wagging changes that fundamental fact in my opinion.

YMMV

I agree all I'm saying is best to be prepared beforehand. And circumstances can be different for every case so we have to factor the circumstances as well. In this instance we can see that the cellphone worked so why not use it to call for help before going. Sometimes preparedness and awareness overrides falliability. Sadly in hindsight the girlfriend probably realizes it now but unfortunately its too late and may feel things would have ended differently had they been prepared and aware of what the outcome could be. I feel sad for her and also the young man. MOO.