Woman dies 5 days after helicopter rescue from rattlesnake bite on California trail

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Another one

Thu Mar 12, 2026: 25-year-old OC man dies after rattlesnake bite

News | Bay Area & State

Woman dies 5 days after helicopter rescue from rattlesnake bite on California trail

By Olivia Hebert, News Reporter
March 26, 2026

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A rattlesnake in California.
Anvay Jawadekar / 500px/Getty Images

A Southern California woman has died after a rattlesnake bite, marking the second fatal snake bite in the state since the start of the year. ... Emergency responders were dispatched to a trail in the Wildwood Regional Park area of Thousand Oaks for a “remote rescue” shortly before noon March 14, after reports that a female hiker had been bitten by a rattlesnake.

Ventura County Fire Department spokesperson Andrew Dowd told SFGATE by phone that firefighters and paramedics responded by ground and air, deploying a helicopter through a joint sheriff-fire air unit while additional crews hiked into the trail to reach the hiker. Once they reached her, crews administered medical care before she was evacuated from the scene and flown to a nearby hospital.

Moorpark resident Gabriela Bautista, 46, died five days later on March 19, James Baroni, a senior medical examiner with the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office, confirmed to SFGATE by phone. Her cause of death was listed as “rattlesnake venom toxicity” and the manner was ruled an accident.

Fatal snake bites are incredibly rare in the U.S., with about five deaths reported annually.

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March 26, 2026

Olivia Hebert
News Reporter
Olivia Hebert is a news reporter at SFGATE, where she covers breaking news and a diverse array of topics. Before joining SFGATE, she wrote lifestyle news for the Independent, often exploring the intersection of health, technology, pop culture, travel and style. She’s also written entertainment news for Collider, Distractify and StyleCaster. You can reach her at [e-mail].

[Bayard]

1. Where was the anti-venom?