Body of missing San Diego hiker found by authorities – AsAmNews

The body of a woman believed to be that of a 50-year-old hiker has been found after she went missing while hiking in San Diego over the weekend.

Diem Le Nguyen went missing Sunday morning after she became separated from her hiking group of 150 people while on the Nighthawk Trail in Black Mountain Open Space Park, located in the Rancho Peñasquitos area north of San Diego . The hike was organized by the Build a School Foundation to help build new schools in Southeast Asia.

A search helicopter spotted a body in the area Nguyen was hiking, located 400 meters from a nearby street at 9:15 a.m. Monday.

As ABC reported, police said Nguyen left around 8 a.m. for the group hike. At a press conference Monday, San Diego Police Department (SDPD) spokesman Lt. Daniel Mayer said the group reached halfway up the mountain, before a majority decided to going back down due to the heat, with Nguyen separating and continuing his hike. climb the rest of the peak on her own.

At 10 a.m. Sunday, Meyer said Nguyen made a distress call to her relatives from the end of the trail, saying “she was very hot and needed water.” That was the last time anyone heard from Nguyen. Police responded at 11:30 a.m. and identified Nguyen as an at-risk missing person, due to the environment, heat index and distress. The search continued into the night and resumed the next morning when Nguyen's body was found.

Friends and family members were shocked by the news of Nguyen's death.

William Do, a member of Nguyen's family, said: “It was really sad because losing someone is not easy. It’s just not today,” in an interview with NBC 7. “I still can’t believe it.” Do also told NBC 7 that he was looking for Nguyen on the trail Monday morning when she was found.

Nguyen worked for the U.S. Navy and is survived by his three adult children. Do described her as “devoted to friends, family and causes.”

In a Facebook post, Build a School Foundation said: “With great sadness, we share with you the worst nightmare of someone who tried to make this world a better place, but suffered the tragic loss of one of us, fellow Vietnamese Americans. Our hearts are saddened by Diem's ​​family and loved ones.

Jimmy Thai, hike organizer and founder of the Build a School Foundation, told CBS8, “I did a live stream and she was in the video and that’s how we confirmed she made it to the top and some of the footage shows she started going down by herself while we started hanging out to take a group photo,”. “It’s the saddest moment of my life,” Thai continued. The video was recorded at 9:30 a.m.

SDPD did not provide a cause of death and police could not immediately identify whether the body belonged to Nguyen and are currently awaiting autopsy results. Police said search and rescue missions turned into medical exams, according to ABC News.

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