Weird missing hiker case near San Bernadino Peak

[OtherHand]

This case is a couple months old, but it looks like it slipped under everyone's radar. Almost no press coverage, mainly being this one.

Summary: A 36 year old male from Temecula is reported missing on August 10. On September 11 his vehicle is found at the San Bernardino Peak trail head parking lot in Angelus Oaks with two flat tires. On September 21 he is found alive by a fire hotshot crew near San Bernadino peak and airlifted out.

I really don't know what to make of this, but things don't add up. Lack of press coverage is strange too. The newspaper account implies that he was missing the entire period in that area, but that's a leap. Seems odd that the car of a missing person could remain sitting there for a month without notice. But even if we assume he didn't arrive at the trailhead until shortly before September 11, that still being lost for 10 days with almost no food in a relatively small area. And there were no reports of any serious injury that would have prevented a walk out. My best fit (and not a great one) would be a suicide attempt where the person eventually thought better of it but got themselves in to the process rather deep. Certainly not a typical lost/injured hiker scenario.

[Ed]

You don't normally think someone can survive that long on 'a few apples and oranges.'

I could not find another article on this case, but searching for it I found another:

https://abc7.com/mount-baldy-missing-hiker-san-bernardino-county-sheriffs-sreenivas-sree-mokkapati/6282739/#:~:text=MOUNT%20BALDY%2C%20Calif.,8%2C%202019.

Some may remember this case. Three hikers ascending Baldy by the Bear Flats trail in winter conditions. Two decide to turn back. The third is reported missing. A massive search results in the death of an SAR searcher.

The remains were found at 'Fish Fork at 7800'. This is on the north side of Baldy. Another case of descending the wrong side of the mountain?

[Sally]

I remember this case. I heard about the missing man a day or so after Ellen and Marilyn and I summitted San Bernardino Peak on September 1. We had started at Forsee Creek Trailhead and hit Anderson Peak and San Bernardino Peak before completing the loop through John’s Meadow to the car at Forsee Creek. When we got to San Bernardino Peak we were looking forward to having lunch in the shade. There is a nice spot up there with logs to sit on. When we approached that spot it was already occupied by a man who was in a sleeping bag. Mind you, it was midday in September. There was also a pair of pants hanging from a tree. He may have mumbled a “hello.” I was a bit embarrassed to have intruded on him and avoided making eye contact, so I don’t even recall his face. The ladies and I found another place for our lunch and discussed how odd the situation with guy was. I have since wondered if the guy we saw was the missing man. Since our car was parked at Forsee Creek TH, we weren’t at San B Peak TH to see any cars parked with flat tires.

This is yet another weird case in which we may never know what happened.