Lost Calif. hikers find missing man's pack, survive

IDYLLWILD, Calif. – A couple that got lost on a hike and spent three nights in the San Jacinto Mountains stumbled upon the campsite of a man who vanished a year ago and survived on items they scavenged from his backpack.

Brandon Day, 28, and Gina Allen, 24, both of Dallas, were found Tuesday morning west of Palm Springs after rescuers spotted smoke from a fire that Day had lit using matches that the missing man had been carrying, officials said.

In addition to thanking their rescuers, Day and Allen paid tribute to John Donovan, 60, who disappeared while hiking in May 2005. His backpack provided the couple with the matches, food and heavy clothing.

"I want to thank him for helping save our lives," Day told a news conference Tuesday.

Authorities said they found paperwork in the orange backpack showing it belonged to Donovan.

Friends of the retired Virginia social worker said they hoped the discovery would lead to his remains. Searchers plan to look for his body this week, Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Earl Quinata said.

"Even in his death, he was helping people," Donovan's longtime friend, Chris Hook, said from his Richmond, Va., home.

Donovan, whom Hook described as an experienced hiker, was last seen in the San Jacinto Wilderness on May 3, 2005, about two weeks after he retired. Hook said he assumed his friend got hurt and froze to death in a snowstorm that blew in that night.

Day and Allen, who were in the Southern California desert for a financial convention, got lost after they wandered off a trail while hiking with about 40 other convention attendees.

They spent Saturday night in a cave, dressed only in light clothing and without any supplies, and followed a creek Sunday and Monday that they hoped would lead them down the mountain to safety. The creek led to a gorge, where they became trapped but found Donovan's campsite.

The couple's families and friends called authorities after they missed their flight home and couldn't be contacted.

Rescuers aboard a Riverside County sheriff's helicopter and on the ground found Day and Allen at an altitude of about 4,500 feet near Tahquitz Canyon, about 21/2 miles from the tram.

They were treated at a hospital for dehydration, bumps and bruises.