Search For Hikers Continues In Cleveland National Forest

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A young couple stranded since Easter Sunday in Holy Jim Canyon near Trabuco Canyon in Orange County still have not been found, according to authorities.

Rescuers in Orange County Sheriff's Department and Fire Authority helicopters conducted aerial searches Tuesday, the latter of which included dropping teams into the Cleveland National Forest to conduct a ground search.

The OCSD is the lead agency on the search.

According to Captain Jon Muir of the Orange County Fire Authority, its ground crews are trained to work through the night and are continuing the search Wednesday.

The search includes sheriff's deputies from Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties, Muir said.

Nicholas Cendoya, 19, and Kyndall Jack, 18, of Costa Mesa, called authorities after an outing on Sunday, about 8:25 p.m., to say they were lost, said OCSD spokeswoman Gail Krause.

The two said they believed they were about a mile from their vehicle, Krause said. Soon after they contacted authorities, the cell phone's battery wore down, she said.

Sheriff Lt. Erin Giudice said authorities could not get an accurate GPS "ping" from the phone to pinpoint the hikers' location. However, a bloodhound picked up a scent on Monday night, and rescuers, including on horseback, would be involved in the search in that area, she said.

"I'm still very hopeful," she told reporters at the searchers' command post. "They're very young kids. They're very healthy. It didn't get very cold last night, so I believe they're out there still, and we will find them."

On Tuesday the Newport-Mesa Unified School District released a statement and  said Kyndall Jack's mother, Dawn, works at Corona del Mar High School.

"N-MUSD wishes to extend its support to the families and the search efforts for a quick and safe return of Kyndall and Nicholas," the statement read.   

A  Facebook page called Costa Mesa Search Party has since been created with community members posting on it to coordinate rides to the trailhead to help search for Kyndall Jack and Nicholas Cendoya.

Kyndall Jack's father, Russ, told ABC7 he hoped the pair would be found by the end of the day.

"By golly, we need to find these kids today," he said. "They cannot sleep in these hills another night. ... That's some pretty rough terrain out there. All this help is greatly appreciated, and we just need to find them by dark today.

"... I want my daughter found, and I want Nick to be found as well. So we're not going to give up."

-City News Service contributed to this report.