Mountain Search Continues for Missing Silver Lake Man

3:30 p.m. Monday: Bea DeRusha of Silver Lake confirms that it is her husband Dick who is missing in the Angeles National Forest and that it was his car found near Switzer Falls picnic area.

Dick DeRusha is 76 years old, according to his confirmed Facebook page. 

She told a family friend that DeRusha has a heart condition and took only enough food with him to last the weekend. He was expected to be back Monday.

Noon Monday: Montrose, Altadena and Sierra Madre search and rescue teams are looking for a 70-year-old Los Angeles man whose son reported him missing at 8:10 a.m. Monday, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials.

Richard ‘Dick’ DeRusha left his Oldsmobile minivan parked in a handicapped space at the Switzer Falls picnic area in Angeles National Forest over the weekend, Sheriff’s Detective Frank Diana of the Crescenta Valley Station told Patch.

His son describes him as avid hiker and his vehicle has hiking poles and a hat left inside, Diana said. 

DeRusha was expected to return back to Switzer Falls on Sunday or Saturday, following his camping trip to the Little Bear and Big Bear Canyon areas, Diana said.

Several Montrose Search and Rescue Team members were climbing north toward Little Bear and Big Bear canyons while several others were climbing south into the Switzer Falls hiking area, Diana said. Sheriff’s Air 5 followed the creek, searching both north and south of the Switzer Falls area to see if DeRusha was in the area. 

By 11:15 a.m. Monday the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team had also arrived at the Switzer Falls hiking area to search the area and see if DeRusha had strayed off the path.  

8:45 a.m. Monday: 

Montrose Search and Rescue is heading up to Bear Canyon, near Switzer Falls in Angeles National Forest, to find a 70-year-old man who was supposed to return to Bear Canyon on Saturday or Sunday, Sheriff's Reserve Chief Mike Leum told Patch. 

His condition is unknown at the time, sheriff's volunteers are still developing information about what happened, Leum said. The call for search and rescue came in about 7:25 a.m. Monday. 

The victim's name is not immediately available. 

Check back with Patch for more updates.