Sunday, May 23, 2010 | 7:16 p.m.
A Metro Police search and rescue team was dispatched to Mount Charleston on Sunday after hikers reported being lost in wintry weather, police said. The hikers were later found without any serious injuries.
A hiker called police at about 1:30 p.m. using his cell phone to report that the group was lost, Police Lt. Ted Snodgrass said. Metro dispatched a helicopter, but it had to be grounded because of inclement weather. Visibility dropped to about a quarter of a mile in the area as snow moved in, police said.
The hikers were lost at an elevation of about 10,000 feet, Snodgrass said.
At about 2:35 p.m., Metro dispatched the helicopter again. The hiker was in almost constant contact with Metro on his cell phone, but because the signal bounced among towers the hikers couldn't be easily located using GPS tools, police said.
At one point during the search, the lost group could see the helicopter, but those in the helicopter couldn't see them, police said. The group was then told to stay where it was, and police found them at about 4:30 p.m.
The National Weather Service office in Las Vegas reported that about 5 inches of snow fell at an elevation of about 9,000 feet.
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