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A hiker wheeled into ER after being rescued from a fall below a Sierra dam.
And a deadly result from another fall, as rescue crews scrambled tonight to help hikers
in trouble.
Good evening, I'm Sharon Ito.
A dangerous day in the Sierra for hikers.
Two accidents, in the worst one a man plunged to his death.
What happened in the wilderness near Silver Fork?
News 10's Dave Mark was first on the scene and he joins us live with the story, Dave.
Well Sharon, the call to 911 came in a little bit after 3.30 that there had been an accident
at a popular climbing spot called Sugarloaf near Kuybers along Highway 50.
Actually it was a little bit to the north of Kuybers up in the hills alongside the highway.
That is about 25 miles to the east of Placerville.
But even then for would-be rescuers, it was too late.
The El Dorado County search and rescue team rushed to the scene, then faced a half hour
hike up a rugged hillside to the spot where the climber had fallen.
Anywhere from 100 to 150 feet and upon impact he lost his life.
Law enforcement sources say the two climbers were apparently not using a safety line.
The climbing rope they were using sheared and broke near the top.
I think a rope failed and the friend at the top was assisted by other climbers.
They belayed him down to the bottom and then another climber called 911.
It took nearly four hours for search and rescue workers to retrieve the climber's body and
bring it back down to Highway 50.
We just basically was using what lights we had with flashlights and stuff so it was difficult
terrain.
We had to take things slow and provide for safety.
Now the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department is investigating the accident.
So far very little information has been released.
Investigators do say that the surviving climber was above the victim when the accident happened.
He was not actually inside of the victim when the rope apparently broke.
The name of the victim has not yet been released.
Search and rescue experts up there say that climbers were just enjoying this very warm
weather, many of them in that area, to try to get in one more climb before the end of
the season.
Dave, you were saying in the investigation, is there any way to tell if they were novices
or experienced hikers?
We haven't learned anything about that yet.
In fact, the Sheriff's Department is just getting started on their investigation of all of this
and we expect to have more information released tomorrow.
Okay, thanks Dave.
And there's been another accident, another harrowing rescue of a hiker this evening who
fell in some steep terrain and that accident happened just below the dam at Lake Clementine
in Placer County.
Searchers found her stranded below some rocks, her ankle badly broken.
29-year-old Tamara Guillory arrived at Sutter Rosedale Hospital this evening.
A rescue helicopter had to pluck her from a tight spot below the dam.
Doctors say she is in moderate condition tonight.
The FBI has helped Sacramento Sheriff's investigators search at least three states looking for a
missing El Grove girl, but hope is fading she'll be found alive.
Six-year-old Alexia Riel hasn't been seen since summer and her parents are accused of
a terrible crime against her older sister.
News 10's George Warren has the latest tonight.
While Sheriff's detectives still hope to find six-year-old Alexia Riel alive, they've dug
up the backyard of her family's home because they fear the worst.
We really don't know.
She still could be alive somewhere.
That's a good possibility, but we also can't ignore the possibility that she's met with
foul play.
Investigators describe a terrible home life for Alexia and her 13-year-old sister on this
quiet street.
Locked in closets, forced to sleep in this shed with dogs, rarely allowed to leave the
home apparently.
Here's a neighbor of 10 years.
I was really shocked that they even had children living here.
You never saw them?
No.
No.
Does that tell you about the family life?
I don't know what was going on.
I really don't know.
Deputies didn't even know Alexia was missing until they discovered her 13-year-old sister
had been doused with bleach in some bizarre ritual to exorcise the demons.
The parents believe in the occult.
There's no doubting that.
They believe in fate and the devil, and that's one of the reasons they were trying to exorcise
the demons from both of their girls.
While the search continues for the 6-year-old who lived in this house, others worry about
her older sister, now physically safe, but coming from such a destructive environment.
Because a child that age is so dependent on their caregivers that when, especially with
this extreme of abuse, it's going to affect her ability to learn, it's going to affect
her socially, affect her future relationships with people, her ability to trust.
The mother and stepfather of the two girls are being held without bail tonight, charged
with felony child abuse and possession of meth amphetamine.
The charges against Barbara and Larry Carrasco could be upgraded, of course, Sharon, depending
on the outcome of the search for Alexia.
And those neighbors there knew so little.
Thank you, George.
Startling new court records from the Unabomber case reveal an angry childhood for suspect
Theodore Kaczynski.
His defense lawyers have been hinting at possible mental health problems stemming from his childhood.
Court records obtained by the San Francisco Examiner show that Kaczynski's brother David
told FBI agents Theodore Kaczynski felt a lot of rage toward his parents.
It's best revealed in a note he wrote to them saying, I can't wait until you die so I can
spit on your corpse.
In one letter to his brother David, he wrote that there are lots of people I'd like to
hurt.
But in another letter, he goes on to say, the reason I've never committed any crime
is that I have been successfully brainwashed by society.
Kaczynski's trial on the deadly bombings begins in Sacramento in a week and a half.
His defense lawyers may insist that these angry, disturbing letters could help prove
he was mentally incompetent.
Tow truck drivers rolled into Stockton in a long procession to remember a murdered fellow
driver.
James Loper was shot to death in a phony call for help last week.
News 10's Dionne Anglin reports on today's unique and emotional memorial.
For his final ride aboard a tow truck, fellow drivers lifted James Loper's casket onto one
of his company's trucks.
Tow truck drivers from as far away as Oakland here for the funeral procession of one of
their own, a fellow driver, a husband, and father of two, gunned down while on the job.
It's a proper thing, to look at it and to know it, it's very powerful.
It's going to be a good answer to this kind of situation.
It's a wonderful feeling.
I thought I only lost a husband, but I gained a new family.
It's wonderful.
The procession of more than a hundred tow trucks, some with black stripes and ribbons,
honoring Loper.
The sight drew the attention of many as people stopped to watch and even wait.
We're laying James to rest today.
We're saying our final goodbye, but we're not going to lay in rest until this person
is apprehended.
As you sorrow not even as others which have no hope.
Now, it's okay to have sorrow today.
It's okay to have tears.
A graveside service is tearful and full of emotion.
There's so many of us out there doing a job like this and every call you get, you never
know who's there or who you're going to see.
You're just out there to help the person.
It just kind of gets to you.
Through all of this, folks, don't become bitter.
Become better.
Dion Anglin, News 10.
Many of those same tow truck drivers have also pitched in for a reward to find the killer
of James Loper.
That reward totals nearly $4,000.
Other news, the visit to the US by China's president ended in California and ended the
way it began with protests.
Jiang Zemin met privately with Governor Pete Wilson in Los Angeles.
That meeting followed by a luncheon with business and political leaders.
Jiang mentioned a new GM plant that will open in China next year as an example of stronger
ties, but he could not escape the constant criticism on the issue of human rights.
We would like to see he do something real instead of just making a public relation gimmick.
Jiang asked his California audience for patience and cooperation, quoting a Chinese proverb
that a 10,000 mile journey begins with the first step.
He returns to China tomorrow.
Oprah Winfrey not only starred in Before Women Had Wings tonight, she had an emotional stake
in the story of alcoholism and abuse, one that could be told in thousands of families
today.
In a minute, we will tell you and give you information on how to get help for those of
you in need.
But first, newsstands Christina Mendoza talks with Oprah about why this movie was so important.
How'd you get so lucky to be named after one of God's prettiest birds?
In Before Women Had Wings, Ms. Zora becomes Bird's Light, a source of wisdom and love
to help her make sense of a painful life.
I felt like I was wearing a thousand layers of clothes, but she took off me one piece
at a time so I could finally get a good long look at myself.
Earlier this week, Oprah told me Before Women Had Wings touched her deeply when she read
the book.
You said you read this book in one night.
What in it reached out and grabbed you and made you want to do this project so badly?
Well, I think that the character Bird, the voice of the 10-year-old girl who's being
abused is a voice that I've heard in my own head.
I've been that character.
That is what reached out to me and made me want to let her voice be amplified throughout
the country.
Baby, oh baby.
Oprah says she based her character, Ms. Zora, on people who inspired her throughout her
own life.
Ms. Zora was Ms. Eddins, who is my godmother now.
Ms. Zora was Maya Angelou.
Ms. Zora was a couple Sunday school teachers that I had.
So she is a compilation of all women who I knew who were nurturing and caring and supportive
and who said, baby, you can be somebody.
Before Women Had Wings is one of a multi-movie deal Oprah's production company has with
ABC.
She says she wants to make the kind of movies she'd like to watch.
I have to ask you, are you having fun?
I have fun.
I asked people last year to start keeping a grateful journal, and that's one of the
most fun things I do all day is list the things I did that day that brought me a sense of
pleasure, happiness, a thankfulness, gratefulness.
It changed my life when I started keeping a grateful journal because you realize that
it's the little moments.
It's like in this character that I play, it's the little moments that she extends to Bird
that makes the difference.
It's the little moments in all of our lives that really make the difference.
Christina Mendonca, News 10.
And now alcoholism and abuse harms so many families, so tonight we have some helpful
resources.
For victims of alcohol or child abuse, the National Child Abuse Hotline is toll free.
It can offer referrals and handle crisis calls.
Family First with a Sacramento number offers help or resources to anyone whose family is
in trouble.
And the California Youth Crisis Line is especially geared toward kids.
One more number, Elanon offers support for alcoholics and their friends and loved ones.
They are necessary medical tests that can save your life, but an everyday activity could
give you the wrong results.
And then the cream gets into the coffee and that totally follows up the test.
Advice you need to keep critical checkups from delivering a false positive, that's next.
Plus a final farewell for a killer whale that thrilled generations of valley spectators.