by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

The body of 22-year-old El Monte resident Lifei Huang, who had been missing since 2 p.m. Sunday, February 4, was airlifted from steep terrain at Mt. Baldy Sunday.

According to reports, the U.S. Forestry Department told the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office a citizen flying a drone may have spotted Huang’s body at about 3:25 p.m. Saturday. Due to dangerous weather conditions, the rescue was delayed until early Sunday morning, when before 8 a.m. a sheriff’s helicopter hoisted medics down onto the mountain, and Huang’s body was airlifted. The San Bernardino Coroner’s Division is set to determine the cause of Huang’s death.

Huang embarked on a solo hike at Mt. Baldy on February 4 during some of the most treacherous conditions of a storm that would ultimately dump some 20 inches of snow in the higher elevations of local mountains, and 8.68 inches of rain in Claremont. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department reported Huang was last heard from about 4 p.m. on February 4. Rescuers began searching at about 2:30 a.m. February 5, but the operation was delayed several times due to high winds.