Mountain biker found dead in Cleveland forest

Andres Marin of Corona began a planned ride about 7 a.m. Saturday, his
34th birthday, but failed to return home for an afternoon celebration.

Christyna Arista was not going to wait.

Her husband, Andres Marin, was lost in the darkness in the Cleveland
National Forest, injured, disoriented, cold, wet and lightly dressed.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department had suspended its search for
the night on Saturday and the volunteers with the Riverside Mountain
Rescue Unit had decided conditions were too treacherous to ascend the
trail on which the mountain biker was lost.

So Arista, an experienced hiker, gathered six other family members and
against the advice of sheriff's officials set out on foot about 3:45
a.m. Sunday from Corona toward Santiago Peak in the Santa Ana Mountains.
They split up into twos and threes, carrying flashlights and other
equipment.

They ascended Indian Truck Trail on the belief that Marin was
beginning a descent from the peak. He had called his wife about 5:30
p.m. Saturday — more than two hours after he was supposed to have come
home — to say that he didn't know where he was and that, although he was
headed down the mountain, he didn't think he could make it. His speech
was slow, and he had difficulty answering questions. He said he had fallen


Arista said her husband was not prepared for the overnight conditions.
There was a light but steady rain that evening, and while the National
Weather Service does not record the temperature atop Santiago Peak, it
got down to 39 degrees on nearby Pleasants Peak, which is about 1,800
feet lower in elevation.


Davey