Dirt Bike Rider Found After Going Missing in Ventura County Wilderness

A dirt bike rider who went missing was found uninjured Tuesday morning after spending the night in the Ventura County wilderness, rescuers said.

The man was riding his dirt bike in the Los Padres National Forest and called a fellow rider Monday morning to say his bike broke down, said Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Mark Frankie. Frankie said the 45-year-old man couldn't be reached on his cellphone since that call.

The missing man's friends traveled up to the area to search for him, but were unsuccessful and called 911 around noon on Monday.

Search and rescue crews said the man was likely somewhere in the Lockwood Valley area. Frankie said the conditions in the mountain area were "wet and freezing."

Authorities deployed a helicopter and spent the day searching for the missing man in the Lockwood Valley area, about 20 minutes away from Frazier Park.

It was unclear if the man was equipped or had survival skills to endure the current conditions, Frankie said. Light rainfall and possible snow was expected in the region on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, around 1 a.m., rescuers were searching for the man in the "Muta Flats" area of Los Padres National Forest.

A helicopter search was suspended at nightfall, and crews on the ground planned to look for the man through the night, Frankie said.

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On Tuesday morning, the sheriff's department's air unit tweeted that its had found the man "cold, but uninjured."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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