Missing California Firefighter Michael Herdman Found Dead One Mile Away From Where He was Last Seen Alive (Update: Coroner Rules Death Accidental)

36 year old Michael Herdman has been found dead about 3/4 of a  mile away and 1200 feet up from where he was last seen alive in in Los Padres National Forest. Herdman’s body was found. Herdman’s body was discovered at 10 a.m. Friday by a pilot flying overhead and they called in searchers to that area. The body lay over terrain and was partially covered by brush. Through dental records a positive ID was made but it is not yet been determined what caused the firefighters death.  Herdman was last seen Friday, June 13 on a cliff above the Sespe River in rugged terrain of the Los Padres National Forest.

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said there was was no sign of foul play. Michael Herdman is survived by his wife and daughter.

A California firefighter who went missing two weeks ago during a camping trip after he ran after his dog has been found dead among rugged terrain in Los Padres National Forest, authorities said Friday.

Michael Herdman, 36, ran after his black lab, Duke, the night of June 13 while he was barefoot and wearing just a T-shirt and shorts.

The wayward pooch was found Saturday in a parking lot where his owner had parked his car — about 12 miles from where Herdman and buddy Taylor Byars, 27, had set up camp along a river bottom in woods outside the city of Fillmore.

The partially covered body was spotted by a helicopter and eventually recovered. Authorities are unsure if he fell or how exactly Herdman died.

Press Conference for deceased Michael Herdman

UPDATE I: Coroner says Missing Arcadia firefighter Mike Herdman died instantly in a cliff-side fall.

Arcadia Firefighter Mike Herdman died instantly after falling from a cliff in the Sespe Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“The injuries were significant enough that when the fall occurred it caused immediate death,” said Armando Chavez, chief deputy medical examiner. “He’d fallen off the edge of a mountain or a cliff.”