From Sierra Daily News newspaper report by David Gaines:

Glider Pilot Killed Near White Mtn. Peak A hang glider pilot from Orange County who was reported missing on Friday night in the White Mountains was found dead on Saturday night, apparently the victim of a crash.

Neil Hocknell, 42, of Orange was reported missing by friends, but no one knew his location at that time. Other glider pilots who were flying on Saturday looked for him but were not successful in finding him, according to Tom Kreyche, an official of the Owens Valley Hang Gliding Center.

Also on Saturday, Don Partridge, another official with the Hang Gliding Center, flew a search of suspected areas with a local Bishop pilot in a light plane and was able to spot the crash scene.

The Hang Gliding Center then called the Bishop Civil Air Patrol and the Mono sheriff's Department, who flew in a rescue helicopter to attempt to pick up the body at 9 p.m. on Saturday night.

According to a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, "Due to the darkness and the rough terrain of the location, he was not flown out at that time." Using a Forest service helicopter, Sheriff's deputies retrieved the victim at 8 a.m. Sunday morning.

"The area where he was found was about two miles southeast of White Mountain Peak, which is about one mile northwest of the White Mountain Research Station facility," Kreyche explained.

Flying over the top of mountains is not accepted procedure in extremely strong winds, and other pilots that day had been discussing the increasing winds over the radio," Kreyche said.

"Three people had landed safely in the same area with minor damage to their gliders when the winds came up, and he probably tried to land in the same area when he hit a wind gradient and turbulence, causing him to hit the ground very hard. The winds were probably 30 to 40 miles per hour that day," Kreyche speculated.

The accident is under investigation by the Mono County Sheriff's Department.

From Sierra Daily News newspaper report by Sandy Harrison:

Rafting Accident: SDN's Dan Mankin Missing On River

Dan Mankin

Dan Mankin, the Sierra Daily News Mono County correspondent for the past year, was presumed dead Sunday night after falling from an inflatable mattress on the Owens River near Warm Springs Friday afternoon. He was 30.

After three days, Inyo Search and Rescue coordinator Dan Lucas reluctantly called off the underwater search for Mankin late Sunday. However, Lucas indicated a limited shoreline search would continue.

"It's a hard thing to do," said the sad, weary Lucas, "You give it everything, and it's tough when you have to give up."

Mankin, who was "floating the river" for the first time, was riding on a small air mattress which developed a leak and lost its air, Lucas said. His companion, a friend from Southern California, told authorities the mattress flipped when it struck a logjam which had formed where a tree had fallen across the river.

"He hit it in the middle where the water was flowing very swiftly underneath," Lucas said. "It swept him under and he just never came up."

Lucas said Mankin probably drowned almost immediately, adding that his body may have become dislodged later. "We tore that area completely apart. We checked everything over and over. But we couldn't find him," Lucas said.

He added that rescuers and divers from Inyo and Mammoth and June Lake Search and Rescue teams combed the entire river from the spot where Mankin fell, about a mile north of Warm Springs, to just north of Tinnemaha Reservoir - a linear distance of about 15 miles, but an actual length of many times that because of the continuous curves in the river.

Lucas believes the body is still hidden in that area. "There is no visibility whatsoever underneath the water," he said. "You go in and just grasp around. That's what we were doing, really, just grasping at a one-in-a-million chance,"

The shore along the entire length of that area was also searched thoroughly but with no success, Lucas said.

"The river is the highest I've ever seen it, and it's definitely not safe," Lucas said. "I've never seen it like this, and I've lived here all my life. The river is real turbulent. There are currents everywhere, in every direction, on the surface and underneath."

Estimates placed the river at about four feet higher than normal.

Even the, expert divers on the search teams were having problems, Lucas said. "We had some fairly close calls. One of the divers got caught in a current and had to hit his inflatable vest to get up."

Searchers said about 50 people floated past the divers over the weekend on various devices, and pointed out that any of them could easily have gotten into trouble.

Three people fell from a canoe, in fact, when it hit a snag in the river. The divers who were there looking for Mankin, however, helped them safely from the water. There were 16 searchers involved at the peak of the effort Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Sierra Daily News office in Bishop, normally empty on Saturday, was filled with saddened employees huddled around a police scanner, hoping for miraculous news that their friend might somehow be found alive. It never came.

The full staff was at work Sunday, preparing today's edition despite the lingering shock and grief which filled the office.

"We at SDN are all deeply touched by the events of Friday," said publisher Bob Wellman, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan's wife, young daughter and his relatives. They are obviously going through a very difficult time.

"We are grateful to the rescuers and divers, who put themselves in dangerous positions in the very treacherous water," Wellman added. "Those men are heroes."

"Somehow it all seems so unfair. Dan was a young man who loved life, adored his wife, idolized his young daughter, and was finally finding time to enjoy the wonders of this beautiful area," Wellman said.

"As a reporter, he was fair and honest and was dedicated to presenting news in Mono County with the highest integrity.

"Really, I don't know anyone who could ever say anything bad about Dan Mankin," Wellman concluded.

Mankin, whose prematurely gray hair atop his tall, lanky frame made him look older than his 30 years, was a gentle, soft-spoken native of the Pasadena area. He was an accomplished poet whose work was scheduled to be published in the next issue of Sierra Life Magazine.

He graduated from Los Angeles City College, where he was editor of the campus newspaper, and interned at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Mankin was hired to run SDN's Mono County bureau on June 6, 1982. His last stories, in Friday's paper, covered a hearing on affordable housing in Mammoth, and the Mono Sheriff's deputies' labor contract negotiations.

His wife Betty, who is three months pregnant with their second child, and his 14-month-old daughter Natasha reside in Mammoth, his sister Jenny Roberts lives in Bishop, and his parents reside in Pasadena.

Memorial services set tonight for Dan Mankin

The family of Dan Mankin has announced a brief outdoor memorial service will be held tonight at 5 at Bulpitt Park west of Bishop on Highway 168.

Mankin, 30, apparently died Friday afternoon in a rafting accident on the Owens River. His body had not been recovered as of Wednesday. He had been the Sierra Daily News Mono County bureau chief the past year.

"All friends, colleagues and acquaintances of Dan are invited" to the memorial, the family said. The Rev. Ron Roberts of the First United Methodist Church will officiate.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Natasha Mankin trust fund in Dan Mankin's memory. Donations can be sent to Security Pacific National Bank, Box 1177, Bishop, Ca., 93514, in care of Alice Stever.

Markin was last seen Friday afternoon riding a plastic raft on the Owens River near Warm Springs. The raft apparently deflated and Mankin slipped into the river and drowned, said Inyo Sheriff's Sergeant Dan Lucas.

A three-day search for the body proved unsuccessful. Investigators planned no further search of the river this week, but said they would check Tinnemaha Reservoir later in the week.

Mankin is survived by his wife Betty, who is three months pregnant, and a 14-month-old daughter Natasha. The family lives in Mammoth. He also is survived by a sister, Jenny Roberts, who lives in Bishop.

From newspaper report:

Wrecked plane, bodies discovered by hiker The wreckage of an aircraft lost over the Sierra in a heavy snowstorm last February was discovered this week by a passing hiker, north of the Marine Mountain Warfare Center.

According to Mono Sheriff's Department, 18-year-old Donald Boatman was on a day hike near Chango Lake when he discovered the wreckage Sunday. The Sheriff's Department responded to Boatman's phone call and used a Forest Service helicopter to fly to the area.

Two severely decomposed bodies were removed from the scene and were transported to Bishop for autopsy and identification.

The Baron Beechcraft plane is believed to be the craft lost in a snowstorm Feb. 28 with Brian A. Bertha of Capistrano and Jeffrey W. Lehecka of Laguna Beach on board.

The Sheriff's Department said the tail numbers on the wreckage discovered by Boatman match those of the missing aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board conducted a two day investigation at the crash sight earlier this week. The Sheriff's Department said evidence at the sight indicated that the two occupants of the plane died upon impact.

A massive land and air search was conducted after contact with the plane was lost.

The twin-engine Beechcraft, piloted by Bertha, was on a flight from Reno to Santa Anna when it apparently crashed west of Bridgeport near the Marine Mountain Warfare Center in Pickle Meadows.

Lehecka was a passenger in the plane.

Both men were prominent businessmen in Southern California. Bertha was president of the National Services Company, and Lehecka was an officer with Strutt-Parker Company of Newport Beach.

Business associates helped finance the search for the downed plane. Snowy weather, however, hampered that search which was eventually called off and the plane remained lost until this weekend.

From Sierra Daily News newspaper report by Sandy Harrison

Bodies Recovered From Sonora Crash Two bodies, presumably those of Newport Beach businessmen Brian Bertha and Jeff LeHecka, were removed from the wreckage of an aircraft in a remote area of Northern Mono County Monday.

Chief Deputy Coroner Lt. Bud Johnson said the bodies, which have been in the wreckage since the plane crashed in February, cannot positively be identified until comparisons with dental records are made.

A hiker spotted the wreckage of the plane Sunday, and reported the tail registration number to the Sheriff's Department, who matched it with the plane Bertha and LeHecka were inside when it vanished in a snowstorm four months ago.

An extensive search in the weeks following the crash was unfruitful, as the plane was apparently buried quickly in the heavy snowfall that followed.

Using the hiker's description of the area, searchers were able to pinpoint the wreckage a mile inside the Mono-Alpine county line, near Chango Lake, about a mile away from the Pickle Meadows Mountain Warfare Training Center, Johnson said.

The rescuers began Monday's operation at sunup, and had completed their task by 11 a.m., Johnson said.

"Obviously, we think we know who the people are, but we can't make a positive I.D.," Johnson said. "We may be able to do that Wednesday when I can check dental records."

From newspaper report:

Body pulled from river The body of a man who had been missing since a rafting accident on the Walker River in northern Mono County two weeks ago was discovered Monday, floating a few miles from the town of Walker.

Mono County Deputy Coroner Bud Johnson said a rancher had made the grim discovery Monday morning. June Lake and Mammoth Search and Rescue teams and deputies from the Mono Sheriff's Office recovered the body from the water in the China Gardens area about 2-3 miles south of Walker.

The body was later identified as that of John H. Barajas of Bermuda Dunes, Calif. Barajas, who was 43, disappeared after a rafting accident with his two grown sons.

From Mono Herald newspaper report by Rosanne Oakes Higley:

Woman rescued after crash in creek In a treacherous twilight rescue, the June Lake Search and Rescue Team and the Mono County White Water Diving Unit guided Susanne Martin across the rushing water of Lee Vining Creek Saturday evening after her car overturned in the creek.

Martin, 19, had been driving south on Hwy. 395, one-fourth mile south of Lee Vining when she lost control of her vehicle while reading a road map, according to California Highway Patrolman Ray Messerer. The car crossed the highway and an open area before diving into the creek just upstream from the Southern California Edison Electrical Plant. Witnesses searched the creek for the car, finding it overturned downstream of a small road bridge near the power plant. "We were sure they must have been dead," exclaimed two witnesses from Holland.

But the car was still upright when it came to a stop about 20 yards downstream from where it had gone over the bank. Martin later told rescuer Doug Magee that when she opened the door to escape the car, she realized she had her seat belt on. Water then came rushing into the vehicle.

Immediately after unbuckling her belt, the water sucked her into its fast moving current. The water had enough force to overturn the car after Martin escaped.

The force of the water pushed Martin about 350 yards downstream, through a metal culvert, before she was able to pull herself ashore on a small island in the creek, Her screams drew bystanders to her location.

Jerry Hallum, the attendant at the gas station on the corner where the accident occurred, summoned the Lee Vining Volunteer Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service, the Mono County Sheriffs, the California Highway Patrol, the Mono County Paramedics, and the June Lake Search and Rescue and White Water Diving Team.

Martin waited for her rescue huddled in a perch in a tree on her island, the highest point available out and away from the water. Her injuries were limited to bruises and abrasions and were not life threatening.

A number of bystanders, noting that the victim was cold and scared, offered to go to the island to help her. However, the sheriffs and paramedics did not want to have additional rescues and prohibited any untrained personnel from attempting to cross the fast moving stream while awaiting the arrival of trained crews.

The Search and Rescue Team, aided by the White Water Diving Team, finally got Martin to safety. After rigging a rope across the stream and tying into the rope, three rescuers pushed, pulled and virtually carried Susanne across the rough current of the creek. Additional rescuers were stationed downstream in case anyone slipped and lost control. That person would have then been cut loose, to be caught further downstream by additional members of the team.

But all went well, and in just a few minutes Martin was across the creek and under the care of the Mono County Paramedics, The paramedics took Martin to Mono General Hospital in Bridgeport where she was treated for minor injuries and kept overnight for observation. She was released the following day, according to Hospital Administrator Herman Rudell.

One witness to the rescue, Penny Kellogg, said, "I've lived in this area all my life and heard about the courage and skill of the June Lake Search and Rescue Team. Now I've seen it firsthand. They're incredible."

Doug Magee, after his role in the rescue, enthusiastically said, "Thanks to the Mono County Sheriffs for the recent training they gave us in white water rescue."

From newspaper report:

Four members of family injured in Hwy. 395 crash A Canadian man is facing felony hit and run charges following an accident south of Conway Summit on Highway 395 Sunday afternoon in which four members of a Topeka, Kansas, family were all injured.

According to the California Highway Patrol Report, Irene Hortenstine of Topeka, 31, was driving south in the right lane when a red Capri passed her on the left.

A car driven by Charles Maxwell, 35, of Vancouver, British Columbia, came up behind the Capri at a high rate of speed, forcing the Capri into the right lane, which forced the Hortenstine car off the road and down a 450-foot embankment, the CHP said.

Mrs. Hortenstine, her husband, Daniel, 30, and their two sons, 12-year-old Donald and 7-year-old William, were all injured in the crash. All four were thrown from the car which overturned several times in the plunge down the embankment.

The four members of the family were taken to Mono General Hospital and then transferred to Washoe Medical Center in Reno. All except the 12-year-old sustained major injuries. The Hortenstines are a military family which was on a vacation before moving to new quarters in Pensacola, Florida.

Maxwell was later arrested by the Bishop Police Dept. and booked for felony hit and run. He was taken to the Mono County Jail in Bridgeport.

From newspaper report:

Car Falls 450 Feet; Four Hurt An entire family from Topeka, Kansas, was seriously injured Sunday afternoon when their car was forced off a cliff near Conway Summit on Highway 395, and plunged 450 feet over the side.

A few hours later, a man identified as Charles Maxwell, 35, of Vancouver, British Columbia, was arrested in Bishop for felony hit and run driving.

According to the CHP, Irene Hortenstine, 31, was driving southbound with her husband Daniel, 30, and their children Donald, 12, and William, 7.

The Hortenstine car was in the right lane on a six percent downgrade, alongside a vehicle described as a red Capri.

The driver of the Capri, who was not identified, told highway patrolmen that Maxwell's car approached him at high speed from behind, forcing him into the right lane. That in turn caused Hortenstine to swerve to avoid the Capri. The car went out of control and off the embankment, about a mile south of Virginia Lakes Road on the south side of Conway Summit.

The car overturned repeatedly, throwing out all four occupants on its 450-foot plunge down the cliff.

All four were taken first to Mono General Hospital and then transferred to Washoe Medical Center in Reno. Irene, Daniel and William had major injuries and were originally described as in critical condition. No updates were available from Washoe later, Sunday night.

The other boy, Donald, had moderate injuries, the CHP said.

Maxwell, in custody at the Mono County jail, in Bridgeport, stands charged with felony hit and run driving for allegedly violating Section 20001 of the Vehicle Code, which requires Anyone involved in an injury accident to stop at the scene. If convicted, according to the Vehicle Code, he can be imprisoned for one year, fined $5,000, or both.

The Hortenstines are a military family who were in the process of changing residences when the accident occurred, the CHP said.

The case remains under investigation.

From Review newspaper report:

Sheriffs Rescue Man Lost in Storm A Mono County Sheriff's Department search and rescue team found a Hills man who was overdue on a trip to Benton Crossing Friday night. Eric Turkel, 30, was expected at the crossing at 10:30 p.m., and deputies began the search at 11:14 p.m. on skis. Turkel was located approximately three miles south of his vehicle at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, having lost his way in the storm. Turkel was cold but suffered no physical damage, according to a sheriff's department spokesman.