4 | September 12, 2019 | Malibu surfside news news malibusurfsidenews.com Hiker, 63, dies on Labor Day group hike in Malibu hills Officials extract eight others from meetup group Lauren Coughlin, Editor Jeffrey Sherman, a 63-year-old from Thousand Oaks, died Sept. 2, after spending hours outdoors while on an off-trail group hike in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner ruled the death accidental, and found two causes: cardiopulmonary arrest and atherosclerotic heart disease. Sherman was the CEO of Thousand Oaks Family Well Being, and was a master herbalist and biochemist with advanced training in herbs, vitamin therapy and homeopathy, according to the business’ website. Officials received several calls for aid beginning at 2:10 p.m. Sept. 2, and eight additional hikers — who also were part of the group hike — were extracted by helicopter from four different cliffsides near Newton Canyon and Zuma Edison Road, in the Zuma Canyon area, according to David Katz, public information officer and operations leader for Malibu Search and Rescue. Officials as well as fellow hikers attempted CPR on Sherman, who was eventually located by a sheriff’s helicopter that was airlifting another distressed male hiker at the time. SAR rescuers loaded a defibrillator and other equipment into the helicopter, got flown as close to the location as possible, and hiked From sept. 3 roughly 300 yards to reach him. Katz said the fellow hikers — all four of whom were extracted by helicopter after rescuers determined they did not know how to get to the marked trail — had been attempting CPR for roughly 15 minutes prior to rescuers’ arrival, and Sherman was unable to be revived. Sherman’s official time of death was 3:40 p.m., according to Sarah Ardalani, public information officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. “When we originally got the call, the report was that the hiker was in distress and confused, and then of course given the [offtrail] location of the hikers it wasn’t something you could get to quickly at all, so time was a factor,” said Katz, who said the man’s death was heat-related. LA County Fire Capt. Rick Mullen, also a Malibu City councilmember, acted as the incident commander, and credited Katz with securing the “key thing” in the rescue: a sheriff’s observation helicopter when a fire helicopter was not immediately available. Based on the information the rescuers had, they were able to send the helicopter to where they believed the hikers were. “These things can be complicated, and they’re very much dependent on if someone has a cellphone signal, coupled with if they can give me any clues as to where they are,” Mullen said. The rescuers’ last extraction for the incident, in fact, was dependent on a cellphone signal, after one man who remained stranded called officials. Mullen was able to call the man, who said the helicopter had just flown over him. With some back-and-forth, the rescuers were ultimately able to spot him. Katz said the operation “from start to finish, was probably 3-plus hours.” Four Search and Rescue officials were in the field, including Katz, and both the LA County Fire Department and LA County Sheriff’s Department responded by air. McCormick Ambulance also was on scene. “[Katz] and his team are really wonderful and I can’t say enough good things about them and our great synergistic relationship,” Mullen said. The hikers, who were part of a VIP meetup hike with Hiking with Dean, began their trek at 9 a.m. and were supposed to return to the Newton Canyon trailhead at 1 p.m. Katz later learned that the group’s leader led the group off trail and into the brush — “they were essentially bushwhacking,” said Katz — and several hikers got separated after losing sight of the leader. Hiking With Dean advertised the outing as a “strenuous loop at around 8.5 miles and about 2,800 [feet] total ascent” along “one of our secret trails,” which members had not hiked since the Woolsey Fire. “It may be more overgrown now than it was when we first used it,” the event page states. Participants were urged to bring at least 2 quarts of water, as well as lunch and snacks. “All of them were out of Malibu Search and Rescue, LA County Fire and the LA County Sheriff’s Department responded to multiple distressed hiker calls on Labor Day after a group of hikers became separated. Malibu Search and Rescue water,” Katz said. “We supplied them with our water, which then put us at risk, because it was unbelievably hot and we then had to have the helicopters bring fluids in.” Twenty-seven attendees RSVPed to the Labor Day hike. The hiking group has been operating since 2007, and has almost 10,000 members, according to its website. Mullen said his jurisdiction does not tend to see as many rescues as areas like the Malibu Creek State Park, where the rock pool attracts explorers of various backgrounds. In this incident, he said, heat was no doubt a factor. “I think it’s just people who are not that in shape or used to arduous activity going out when it’s really hot,” Mullen said. “They essentially bit off more than they can chew.” As of press time, Hiking with Dean did not return the Surfside’s email seeking comment. Last month, on Aug. 6, 72-year-old Pamela Vigil died on a hike with friends near Circle X Ranch. That death also appeared to be heat-related, and occurred after the woman became separated from the group, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. For more on this and other Breaking News, visit MalibuSurfsideNews.com.
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