Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, February 1, 2020

pg.2) SEARCH AND RESCUE (coont. from pg.1 


and rescue skill, training and self 
discipline that we can produce.” 

87 operations

52 rescues

35 searches

60 in the local area

17 mutual aid in Los Angeles 
county

10 mutual aid outside of LA 
county

In 2019, most of our calls were 
in our local response area which 
spans from Hastings Ridge above 
Sierra Madre to Fish Canyon in 
Azusa. This included responses to 
Bailey Canyon, Monrovia Canyon, 
and Chantry Flats. The team also 
responded in mutual aid with other 
search and rescue teams in Los 
Angeles County and throughout 
California. These calls took us to 
Mount Baldy, the Angeles Crest 
and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 

 

101 subjects

45 injured

44 uninjured

83 hikers

2 dogs

2 runners

2 vehicles over the side

In 2019 SMSR helped a mountain 
biker with a broken leg, an 
exhausted dog out on the trail, hikers who had fallen when they tried to take a shortcut, and a man 
who broke a leg jumping off of the waterfall at Hermit Falls. 

There were a number of notable searches this year. In April a field crew from SMSR located two 
hikers who had been lost near Cucamonga Peak for 5 days. Then in June, team members worked 
with searchers from throughout California to locate a hiker who had been missing for 7 days near 
Mount Waterman. Later in the summer a crew of SMSR searchers located a camper in Inyo County 
who had been missing for 4 days. Each of these subjects has an amazing story of survival and 
determination to tell. Bringing them safely off of the mountain and back to their families gives the 
team great joy and fuels us to keep doing the work we do. 

 Not all of the callouts have ended so well. Early in the year, team members joined the 
search for lost Marine Matthew Kraft in the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains. A SMSR crew 
was helicoptered into a remote region of Sequoia Kings National Park where they searched for 2 
days, camping overnight in the wilderness. Unfortunately, Kraft has not yet been found. 

The year ended with the Team participating in a week long search for a missing hiker on Mount 
Baldy. During this search operation, fellow searcher Tim Staples from the West Valley Search and 
Rescue Team was tragically killed after an apparent fall in steep, icy terrain. Three crews of SMSR 
searchers were in the field at the time. They remained in the field to assure that Staple’s crew mate 
got out safely before coming off of the mountain themselves.

 

17,619 total donated hours

9,499 hours of training

5,007 hours on operations

25 team meetings

16 public education events

Team members spend nearly twice as many hours training as they do on operations in order to 
safely assist those lost or injured in the wilderness. We train to navigate frigid snow and ice on steep 
mountain sides, dark underground caves, hot deserts, steep rock, dense brush, and swift water. 
Serving on the team is a huge commitment of time and energy but we love the wilderness and it 
brings us joy to serve our community in the mountains that we enjoy so much. 

Since 1951, the all-volunteer Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team has responded to calls for help 
in the local mountains and beyond. SMSR also provides a range of wilderness safety programs. 
The Team never charges for any of these services, and is funded entirely by charitable donations. 
For more information, to donate, or to arrange a wilderness safety demonstration for your school 
or group, visit www.smsr.org 

2


Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 1, 2020 


A crew from SMSR searching Mt. Baldy for a missing hiker.

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REMEMBRANCE


CLARE COLLINS MARQUADT

March 23, 1947 - January 17, 2020 

Clare Collins Marquardt passed away January 17th, 
2020, after a lengthy illness. Born March 23rd, 1947 at 
Queen of Angels in Los Angeles, California, Clare was 
the daughter of the Honorable Harold F. Collins and 
Julia M. O'Neill. She received her bachelors in English 
from Mount Saint Mary's in 1969 and her Masters in 
Education from Loyola Marymount University in Los 
Angeles. Clare was an educator and spent her entire 
thirty-nine year career at Temple City High School 
where she taught English and Humanities. She also 
served as the Head of the English Department. A resident 
of Sierra Madre for over forty-five years, Clare 
was devoted to her family and her community. She 
was active at St. Rita's School as a board member of 
the PTO and other committees while her children 
were in attendance. She later served at Flintridge Sacred 
Heart Academy and St. Francis High School as 
her children progressed. 

She was predeceased by her parents, the Honorable Harold F. and Julia M. Collins, brother, Thomas 
Collins, and her sister, Julia J. Collins. Clare is survived by her husband, Dennis Marquardt, their 
four children – Katherine Marquardt, Michael Marquardt, Martin (Mary) Marquardt, and Andrew 
(Karen Shi) Marquardt; 3 grandchildren – Calvin, Camille, and Kennan Marquardt; her brother, 
Charles (Sharon) Collins, sisters-in law, Otilia Collins and Jan Marquardt, nine nieces and nephews, 
and twelve grandnieces and grandnephews. The family wishes to thank her devoted caretakers from 
Foothill Homecare for the gentle care they provided Clare over the past few months. 

Funeral Mass was held Saturday, February 1st at 10:00am at St. Rita's Church, 318 N. Baldwin Ave., 
Sierra Madre. Interment is private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mount St. Mary's 
University, Chalon Rd., LA, CA; The Retirement Fund for the Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus and 
Mary, Los Gatos, CA; The Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart, LA, CA; St. Rita's Catholic Parish, 
Sierra Madre, CA. 

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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com