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Hardwick man travels to California for rescued nephew

By
Mavis Fodness

The nephew of a rural Hardwick couple was found safe after spending five days lost in the California mountains.
Eric DeSplinter, 33, and Gabrielle Wallace, 31, were last seen Saturday morning, April 6, hiking toward Cucamonga Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, about 45 miles west of Los Angeles, according to news reports.
DeSplinter is the nephew of Steve and Linda DeSplinter of rural Hardwick.
Eric’s father, Mike DeSplinter, graduated from Luverne High School and currently lives in Sioux Falls.
Linda DeSplinter said Eric was hiking with three other people when snow and ice conditions prompted two people to turn back instead of finishing the seven-mile hike.
The couple who turned back alerted search and rescue officials Saturday night when Eric DeSplinter and Wallace didn’t return to the designated meeting location by nightfall.
Linda said Eric DeSplinter and Wallace reached the peak Saturday, but ice and snowpack prevented the couple from walking down the same trail they ascended.
They decided to return through a valley pass, which proved more treacherous than they anticipated, and they were forced to wait for rescuers.
During the April 8 search and rescue mission, Steve and Mike DeSplinter flew to California. Brother Don DeSplinter also joined them on the flight, and they waited at a fire station near the search area.
The missing hikers carried limited food and water supplies for the daylong hike and were not dressed for the cold night temperatures.
“It was awful,” said Linda, who stayed behind in Hardwick while her husband traveled to California. “Things were starting to look pretty grim.”
Around 10:45 p.m. local time April 11 Linda was on the phone with Steve when word spread that rescue workers had found the couple alive.
“They were very tired and hungry,” she said.
The couple was airlifted out of the valley by helicopter and reunited with family members waiting at the fire station.
The search for the missing hikers became national news until they were found safe Thursday, April 11.

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