Three hikers found dead on Mount Baldy in California

UPDATE (10:52 AM): The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Coroner Division has identified one of the hikers who was found dead on Mount Baldy.

The hiker has been identified as 19-year-old Marcus Alexander Muench Casanova of Seal Beach, California. However, the cause of death is pending.

In addition, the Sheriff's Coroner Division says they have yet to release the identities of the other two hikers.

The investigation is ongoing.

(NBC, KYMA) - Authorities in California say three hikers were found dead Monday on Mount Baldy in San Bernardino County.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (SBSD) said authorities were called to find a 19-year-old hiker who had fallen an estimated 500 feet.

During an aerial search, rescuers located the injured hiker and two additional people nearby.

High winds in the area prevented a rescue, and later that evening, a medic was lowered down and declared all three hikers dead.

"This particular area is called the Devil's Backbone, and this is an extremely dangerous trail that is not carved out in a way that a regular hiker could hike that and be safe. We just want to make sure that everyone understands it is one of the most dangerous trails that we have here in our area, and even the most experienced hiker could have problems on this trail. We definitely don't want novice hikers going up and hurting themselves, not only that, but we have many search and rescue members on this department who are volunteers, who volunteer their time to come out, put their lives in danger, to assist these people off the mountain and also to help them when they're injured. This is an important thing. We We thank our search and rescue members, and we just appreciate how much they do for for the community and for our department."

Jenny Smith, San Bernardino County Sheriff Dept.

It's not clear what caused their deaths, and they have yet to be identified. In addition, a temporary closure order was issued for Mount Baldy.