Search and Rescue teams follow trail of footprints to locate missing man near Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue (SBCSAR) teams followed a breadcrumb trail of footprints to locate a man who went missing near Mission Creek Saturday night.

Crews said the 27-year-old man had been hiking with his girlfriend at Botanic Gardens that afternoon when they became separated around 3:30 p.m. near the redwood grove.

After searching for her boyfriend unsuccessfully, the man's girlfriend returned home, hoping he would be there. When he wasn't, she contacted the sheriff's office for help and returned to the creek area to continue searching for her boyfriend.

Search and Rescue teams were dispatched to the location to aid in the search. There, they found the man's girlfriend lost in the creek bed and helped her back to safety.

They then deployed teams up and down the creek, hiking trails and access roads to locate the man. The incident command team also deployed their SBCSAR UAS team to search by air using FLIR infrared sensors.

After a short amount of time, rescuers searching near the Botanic Gardens spotted fresh footprints in the creek bed. Crews began following the footprints and tracked them down the canyon towards Santa Barbara.

Fortunately, around 10:30 p.m., rescue crews finally tracked the man down in a part of the creek about 100 yards north of Highway 192. He was immediately checked and found uninjured and in good condition.

Search and Rescue said they brought the man's girlfriend and mother to the spot to help coax the man out of the creek.

Once out, the man was checked again by AMR and County Fire medics before being released to his loved ones.

Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue is a nonprofit organization made up of unpaid volunteers. For more information or to donate to their cause, visit www.sbcsar.net.