Second rescue worker dies

Mentone man was injured in head-on crash

By JOE NELSON, Staff Writer

A sheriff's search-and-rescue team member died Tuesday from injuries he suffered in a head-on traffic collision while en route to look for a missing hiker in Joshua Tree National Park.

Phillip Calvert, 58, of Mentone a member of the San Bernardino County sheriff's San Gorgonio search-and-rescue team for 12 years died at 2:36 a.m. at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, the Riverside County Coroner's Office reported.

He was the second person to die from a head-on collision Saturday on Highway 62 near Yucca Valley.

Calvert was one of five volunteers traveling in a sheriff's Chevy Suburban east on the highway at 5:05 a.m. Saturday when they were struck head-on by Joseph Tidwell, 35, who was driving under the influence of drugs, authorities said.

The group was en route to the national park to look for a missing teenage boy from San Diego County.

Search-and-rescue team member Scott Johnston, 30, of Redlands died at the scene. Team member Bob Blanck, 32, of Yucaipa suffered broken bones and internal injuries.

His condition was upgraded from critical to good on Tuesday at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, said Cindy Beavers of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

"I was told he was looking forward to having visitors,' Beavers said.

The other injured team members were released from hospitals on Sunday, Shane Elliot, 34, of Redlands from Desert Memorial, and David Atchley, 45, from Arrowhead Regionial, sheriff's spokesman Chip Patterson said.

Tidwell, a Twentynine Palms resident, is not related to former San Bernardino County Sheriff Floyd Tidwell.

The Twentynine Palms man has a history of DUI-related charges, authorities said.

He was charged Tuesday with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and one count of driving under the influence causing injury.

He was arraigned Tuesday in Joshua Tree Superior Court, said acting Supervising Deputy District Attorney Alex Martinez.

Tidwell previously served two prison stints on felony charges that were not DUI related, authorities said.

"There are prior arrests involving driving under the influence, and we are still looking at how many of them resulted in convictions,' Martinez said. "That plays into our investigation as to whether we will be pursuing murder charges.'

Meanwhile, the search for missing hiker Eric Sears, 17, of Carlsbad, continued Tuesday, but the number of people participating in the search dwindled from 170 on Sunday to about 15 on Tuesday after a Riverside County sheriff's homicide team started investigating possible foul play, said Cindy VonHalle, a spokeswoman for Joshua Tree National Park.

"It's pretty much back to park business,' VonHalle said Tuesday in a telephone interview.

During the search that began Thursday evening, campers and park visitors provided information to park rangers and sheriff's detectives that indicated foul play may have been involved in the teen's disappearance.

Riverside County sheriff's investigators declined Tuesday to elaborate, adding that they were still investigating.

"There's nothing new today,' Riverside County sheriff's investigator Gary LeClair said Tuesday in a telephone interview, adding that finding Sears' body may play a pivotal role in determining if foul play was involved. "Finding Eric is one of our goals.'

Sears was reported missing about 4:30 p.m. Thursday by his friend, Ben Folgelstrom, 17, also of Carlsbad. He told park rangers that he last saw Sears about 12:30 p.m. near the Jumbo Rocks campground, where they had been camping since Wednesday, said Don Roberts of the National Parks Service.
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