Missing hiker found dead near local trailFree Access

A day and a half after being reported missing, a longtime Thousand Oaks resident was found dead this morning near a local hiking trail.

James Ledbetter

Police do not suspect foul play.

The body of James Ledbetter, 60, was discovered around 7:40 a.m. Sept. 2 near Sunrise Trail in the Lang Ranch neighborhood of Thousand Oaks, police said.

Ledbetter was reported missing Tuesday night by his wife of 31 years after he did not return from a hike. He left his home around 5 p.m. that day.

Believing he was hiking near his Sunset Hills home, Ventura County search and rescue workers scoured open space between Erbes Road and Bard Lake through the night Tuesday and into Wednesday using helicopters, bloodhounds and deputies on foot and horseback.

A missing person alert that went out to the community Sept. 1 said Ledbetter had no known serious medical conditions and did not take a vehicle. Friends say he was an experienced outdoorsman.

"He is an amazing hiker, mountain and rock climber," friend Francine Sprigel of Thousand Oaks said Wednesday. "He just did all three peaks in Death Valley last weekend. Him and his wife climb every week."

The Sunrise Trail is on the northern edge of the Lang Ranch/Woodridge open space. The trailhead is at the northern end of Westlake Boulevard.

According to his wife's Facebook posts while he was missing, Ledbetter may have walked to the end of McCrea Road. From there, he could have connected to the Woodridge Loop Trail (along a steep concrete drainage canal) and from there, to Sunrise Trail.

Although authorities have not made Ledbetter's name public, a friend said they were notified of his death this morning. The cause of death is still under investigation.

This story will be updated.