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Teen Stranded 150 Feet Deep In Poison Oak Rescued In Malibu

MALIBU (CBSLA.com) — A Calabasas teen was safe Friday after being stranded down a poison-oak laden canyon in Malibu.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Malibu Search and Rescue Team deputies were dispatched to a report around 6 p.m. Thursday of a female hiker who was suffering from a medical condition and indicated that she was incapacitated.

The 18-year old woman was approximately 150 feet down a steep canyon off of Mulholland Highway about 1.5 miles east of Kanan Road near the infamous "Rock Store."

Upon arrival, Sheriff's Malibu Search and Rescue personnel, together with Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel, made their way over the side of the canyon to evaluate the afflicted hiker.

The victim was evaluated and then was evacuated using the Malibu Search and Rescue truck and winch system.

A Malibu Search and Rescue team member placed a rescue harness to the victim and guided her up the steep canyon side while other team members operated the truck and winch system. The woman was safely evacuated to an awaiting ground ambulance and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.

The nearly two-hour-long rescue operation was completed just before 8:00 p.m.

According to Malibu Search and Rescue personnel, this was the second rescue that the team has responded to in this particular location known to locals as the "tree house", located at the bottom of a canyon in an unincorporated area of Malibu.

The operation came just one week after two Cal State Fullerton students were rescued after getting lost in Trabuco Canyon in Orange County.

Deputies are warning hikers to prepare for the unexpected by filling out a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue Hiking Plan sheet (PDF) and leaving it with a loved one before heading out on any hiking or camping expedition.

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