Diem Le Nguyen, 50, went missing on a trail in a wilderness area in San Diego. Courtesy San Diego Police Department/X
June 24 (UPI) — A body found Monday in San Diego is believed to be a 50-year-old woman who went missing Sunday while hiking on Black Mountain, the police department said Monday.
The department said during a news conference the remains matched the description of Diem Le Nguyen at Nighthawk Trail.
The Medical Examiner’s office will determine if the body was the woman.
“At this point, it’s obviously a very painful moment for the family and friends,” SDPD Lt. Daniel Meyer told reporters. “It’s really important for the community to come together and support this family as they go through this traumatic time.”
Nguyen started the hike with a group of 100 hikers participating in a 5K fundraiser for the Build a School Foundation. The group stopped halfway up around 8 a.m., and Nguyen went ahead and finished the trail alone, SDPD said.
At 9:30 a.m., she told the group she had reached the end of the trail. Then at 10:08 a.m., Nguyen contacted her sister and said was tired and needed water.
On Sunday night, search and rescue teams with more than 50 volunteers, search dogs and drones combed the mountain until dark.
A search helicopter spotted a body Monday morning where Nguyen was hiking, police said.
Meyer said the body was found at about 9:15 a.m. off-trail about a quarter-mile from civilization.
San Diego County had been experiencing its first heat wave of the summer, with an excessive heat watch in effect for the mountains until 8 p.m. Sunday.
It reached into the low 90s on Sunday.