JULIAN — Authorities resumed searching June 19 for a 27-year-old man who went missing at Three Sisters Falls in the Cleveland National Forest, sheriff’s officials said.
Divers were preparing Monday morning to go into the water to continue the search, according to Lt. William Amavisca of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s Alpine substation. But the waterfall’s current was extremely strong and could hamper the diving effort.
“We are hoping Helix Water District closing the dam will help calm the water down enough to get our divers in this morning,” Amavisca told The Coast News.
Searchers continued to traverse the ground near the waterfall but had not yet seen any sign of the missing hiker, the lieutenant said.
A spokesperson at Helix Water District said the water authority stopped releasing water from Lake Cuyamaca to El Capitan Reservoir on the evening of June 16 at the request of Cal-Fire, to help rescue teams continue their search.
“There is still native run-off in Boulder Creek/San Diego River that is maintaining a higher-than-normal stream flow for this time of year,” said Addie Woodard, public affairs supervisor at Helix Water District.
The sheriff’s Julian substation received a call at around 5 p.m. Friday reporting that two people were swimming in the falls and one swimmer had not resurfaced.
Three Sisters Falls and Trail are temporarily Closed. Please avoid the area until further notice. pic.twitter.com/T6B9ND5UCO
— Cleveland NF (@ClevelandNF) June 17, 2023
Deputies searched for the missing hiker until sunset Friday and resumed the search Saturday at 8 a.m. Saturday’s search ended at around 5 p.m. and resumed Sunday morning. The family has requested law enforcement not release the missing hiker’s identity at this time, Amavisca said.
Helicopters scoured the area Sunday, but due to overcast skies, authorities were waiting until the weather cleared, an official at the Julian substation told media outlets.
The Cleveland National Forest tweeted Friday night that the Three Sisters Falls waterfall and trail were temporarily closed until further notice.
Three Sisters Falls was also the site of an accident on June 8, when a 48-year-old woman died after she fell over the edge of a trail while trying to keep a teenage girl from falling.
Jordan P. Ingram contributed reporting to this article.
