UPDATE: Montrose Search and Rescue were successful in recovering the body of what is thought to be missing hiker Guillermo Pino. The recovery began early Wednesday to assist in the recovery. They were successful just before midnight last night.

The body was found in a mud cave in the Anza‐Borrego Desert. Mine rescuers from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department were working underneath a chamber of a 50 to 60‐foot shaft.

Once the body was removed from mud cave, the Medical Examiner’s Office will take possession of the body. The M.E. will make a positive identification of the body and determine cause and manner of death, stated the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Recovery efforts started May 5th, when family members of a missing hiker informed the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department about the discovery of a body inside a mud cave. Since then, Sheriff’s Department personnel have been working with cave experts from San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, Red Cross and State Parks to recover the body. Efforts were hampered by the rugged, unstable and hard to access location of the shaft inside a mud cave.

24‐year‐old Guillermo Pino was reported missing on April 8 while exploring the caves with his family in an area called Arroyo Tapiado.

MSR Head South to Recover Body of Missing Hiker

By Mary O’KEEFE

Montrose Search and Rescue team members are in the San Diego area today assisting with the recovery of the body of a man who has been missing since April 8.

Guillermo Pino, 24, was exploring caves with his family in the Anza Borrego area near San Diego on April 8 when he was separated from his family. He was described as a “fairly experienced” hiker, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

On April 11, Montrose Search and Rescue members joined over 50 other searchers including San Diego Sheriff’s Search and Rescue dogs, Borrego Sheriff’s Substation and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue in the search for the missing man. At the time the search crews could not locate him.

The search continued and on Sunday what appeared to be Pino’s body was discovered in the mud caves of Anza Borrego. The body was located down a hole about 50 feet. The ground around that cave is unstable, making it difficult for teams to recover the body.