An unusual search and rescue operation was conducted on Monday for an occupant of an SUV which had reportedly plummeted 1,000 feet down a hillside on Saturday night in Ventura County. Exact information surrounding the crash in the vicinity of Deer Creek Road, approximately two miles south of Pacific Coast Highway, remains uncertain. Initial reports suggest that a rear passenger, who sustained severe injuries, was capable of self-extraction from the white Cadillac SUV, as per the photojournalists from OnScene.TV, a video news service.
The injured man is said to have hiked back up to the road where he was collected by his brother and transported urgently to a local hospital, as reported by the news service. Until Monday noon when it was reported by the man who hiked back, authorities were apparently unaware of the accident. He revealed that there were two other occupants in the vehicle. Search and rescue teams were hence deployed at the scene of the cliffside accident.
By around 4 p.m., officers from the California Highway Patrol located the SUV. With support from the Ventura County Sheriffs and Fire departments, and the Oxnard Fire Department, a search operation by helicopter, drones, K-9 units, and search and rescue teams was initiated. Fire officials, in a 7:30 p.m. update, reported that one of the missing occupants had been found at their home. By approximately 9 p.m., crews succeeded in reaching and searching the vehicle, but they failed to locate the missing occupant before the search was discontinued until Tuesday morning. No information has been clarified as to why the crash was not reported earlier, or whether the driver or another passenger remains unaccounted for. Further details were not disclosed.
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