Body of Alta Loma man found in Newberry Springs

NEWBERRY SPRINGS • An autopsy will be performed this week on an Alta Loma man whose body was found in rural Newberry Springs, coroners officials said.

The body of Issa Albert Simon, 30, was found by a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team on Wednesday after the man went missing two days prior, according to reports by the county sheriff’s department and coroner’s office.

Simon’s death has not been ruled suspicious, though the cause of death will not be known until the results of his autopsy are examined, sheriff’s department spokesperson Cindy Bachman said.

Simon was attending a religious retreat at St. Antony Monastery in Harvard when he was last seen at about 7:30 p.m. Monday, the coroner’s report said. He did not attend the 8 p.m. religious service. Friends notified authorities the next day after he was not seen through the night.

Because the weather was severe and Simon didn’t have walking or hiking gear, a Search and Rescue Team was deployed Tuesday afternoon, Bachman said. Officials by helicopter, ATV and trackers searched through the night until they found tracks at about 3 a.m. Wednesday. She said it appeared Simon walked and had fallen in several places.

Simon’s body was found at 5:40 a.m. in a rural mountainous area in Newberry Springs about 8 miles from the monastery, the report said.

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