By Mary O’KEEFE

Over the last 10 years, CVW has covered a lot of searches, rescues and recoveries with the Montrose Search and Rescue team. Members of MSAR train through the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. and are volunteers who are paid $1 a year. They are on call 24/7.

MSAR members responded to the Station Fire. They worked alongside law enforcement and fire officials. One of the most memorable stories we covered was how members of MSAR drove through the fire to assist in a call that came in as “car over the side.”

“It was incredible. I never thought I would be doing this on the rescue team,” said Janet Henderson, MSAR lead, in an earlier interview with CVW.

“It was like a war zone. Everything was on fire. There was no way of getting away from it,” recalled CV Sheriff’s Station Deputy Jeff Martin, assistant coordinator, MSAR. “A couple of times we had to have the [team member] in the passenger seat open the [car] door to make certain we could see the edge of the road.”

The over-the-side vehicle call pertained to Los Angeles Fire Capt. Tedmund “Ted” Hall, 47, and firefighter specialist Arnaldo “Arnie” Quinones, 34. They had driven off the side of a mountainous road near Conservation Camp 16 near Mt. Gleason. They were searching for a safe route out of the area for the correction officers, fire personnel and inmate laborers who were trapped by the fire at the camp.

“There were rock slides and downed power lines. It was a narrow dirt road but with the smoke and fire it was worse,” said Mike Leum, MSAR member.

Some of the team members got out of the truck and cleared rocks from the road as they slowly traveled along.

By the time we got [to the camp], firefighters had transported half of the inmates out. Some [team members] were still there and they had gone over the side of the mountain to stay with the two [fallen] firefighters, not wanting to leave them alone. [Those who walked down the mountain] had first degree burns on their feet,” Henderson said. The ground was so hot from the fire it permeated the boots, burning the soles of the firefighters’ feet.

MSAR members were there to support the firefighters.

Henderson said the entire distance was only four-to-six miles down the road.

“But that road was on fire,” Henderson said.

She added that, when a call like that comes in, rescuers can’t help but think about the danger.

“You want to go and help, but you think, ‘If we are stuck here, we are stuck.’ But we all knew what we were doing it for and we went,” she said.

MSAR members have responded to calls about lost hikers and cars over the side of the road and searched for missing persons. They respond to all calls.

This year they have been particularly busy.

“As of Sept. 1 we have responded to 97 call-outs this year,” said Sgt. Gilbert of the CV Sheriff Station. “Last year at this time we only had 65 [call outs].”

MSAR is always looking for volunteers to join their team. For those interested contact the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station at (818) 248-3464 and ask for Sgt. John Gilbert or Dep. Jeff Martin.

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The Search for Elaine Continues

By Mary O’KEEFE

On Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, Susan Park received a text from her daughter Elaine at 9 p.m. but when Susan attempted to text her back the next morning there was no response. That was Saturday. On Sunday there was still no response from Elaine so on Monday Susan contacted Glendale police to file a missing person report.

Elaine is still missing, vanished without a trace. She was last seen in the early morning hours of Jan. 28, 2017 when she left the home of her on-again, off-again boyfriend in Calabasas. She was 20 years old at the time.

A few days later her vehicle, a 2015 charcoal gray Honda Civic, was found parked on Pacific Coast Highway near Corral Canyon in Malibu. It is not an isolated area; there are businesses and houses nearby. The keys to her car were found in the ignition and personal items, including her cellphone, were in the car.

According to a friend, Park had a “panic attack” and left the boyfriend’s house. Surveillance footage showed her walking to her vehicle and then her vehicle was seen driving away from the location. The path from the house to the location where her car was found is a very dark and windy road.

Park is a graduate of Crescenta Valley High School; several of her classmates and friends have been to the area on PCH where her car was found and they continue getting the word out hoping someone will have the information that leads authorities to her. The family continues to ask for any information or photos of Park the night she left the Calabasas house. A Facebook page “Help Find Elaine Park” has been set up that has more information.

“You never know where a piece of information is going to lead,” said Sgt. Dan Suttles, Glendale Police Dept. in an earlier interview with CVW.

There is a $140,000 reward being offered by private donors.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact GPD at (818) 548-4911 or call a tip line set up by the family at (800) 551-3080, or visit the website www.elainepark.tips.

  Mary Okeefe