Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - Update from Desolation Wilderness Event
This morning, autopsies were performed on the bodies of Thomas HYLTON and Jerome SMITH. Mr. Hylton died of a heart attack at the campsite. Mr. Smith died as a result of injuries and exposure to the elements. All evidence obtained in this investigation supports the following conclusions:
Mr. Hylton and Mr. Smith started their Desolation Wilderness camping trip on Monday, June 2nd, 2008. They had planned to hike to the area of the Velma Lakes on their first day. For reasons that we speculate are due to Mr. Hylton’s coronary event, they stopped well short of their destination and set up camp outside Eagle Lake. Mr. Hylton succumbs to the heart attack and dies that first evening.
With either Mr. Hylton in distress or already deceased, Mr. Smith leaves the camp in an apparent effort to get help. In the steep drainage area on the trail back to the highway and in all likelihood in the dark, Mr. Smith falls down the hillside and sustains moderate injuries. He succumbs to those injuries and the freezing nighttime temperatures. With no reason to believe that anything is wrong until the campers are overdue, the families of Mr. Hylton and Mr. Smith do not contact authorities until Thursday, June 5th. Their call results in the mass search and rescue mission and eventual recoveries of the bodies.
In conclusion, the efforts put forth by the families and all the rescue personnel would not have changed the outcome of this event. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the Hylton and Smith families and all of their friends in this time of loss.
Respectfully,
Lt. Les Lovell, L84
El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office
On June 5th, 2008, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, Lake Tahoe Station, responded to a report of two elderly overdue subjects camped in the Desolation Wilderness Area. A ground team and helicopter search into the evening hours failed to locate the subjects. Early this morning the search resumed and their campsite was located. At the scene, one of the subjects was found deceased, and the other is missing. No foul play is suspected at this time, and an active search continues for the missing camper.
The identities of the subjects are being withheld pending notification of the decedent’s next of kin. More information will follow later.
