The body of a hiker who died when he fell about 200 feet from a steep cliff to a ravine and struck his head, was discovered Monday morning and airlifted from the Santa Ynez area of Topanga State Park. Dallas Mussell, 19, a Woodland Hills resident, had been separated from a group of friends, two men and one women, whom he had started out with, according to police. The group of four parked their car in the Palisades Highlands, near the Santa Ynez trailhead, and set out for a hike around 5 p.m. on Sunday. They were hiking near the Santa Ynez Canyon waterfall gorge, when Mussell separated from the group. The other three went off the authorized trail, according to Supervising Ranger Stephen Bylin, to an area near the waterfall where people put up ropes to help them get up. ‘It’s a rough, rugged area,’ said Bylin. Mussell had separately made his way up to an area of steep cliffs overlooking the canyon. When the other three returned to the car around 8 p.m. and found he was missing, they notified Bel-Air Patrol, who called in the rangers. Park rangers and the County Sheriff’s mountain rescue team conducted a search using ground crews and helicopters. Mussell’s body was found at 9:30 a.m. Monday. ‘It appeared that he died immediately,’ said Captain Bill Ernst of Station 23, who was on call during the search. The death is being investigated as an accident, said Detective Ron Phillips of LAPD. ‘Part of the problem is that they separated, which is a common mistake people make when they hike,’ said Ranger Bylin. ‘People have to remember, they need to be prepared when they go into a natural area.’
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