A volunteer search team looking for a 27-year-old man who went missing last week while swimming in a natural pool at a popular hiking spot near Julian in San Diego found a submerged body on June 19.

Divers made the discovery shortly before 1:30 p.m. in a pool underneath Three Sisters Falls in Descanso, in the area where the missing hiker had last been seen, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The county Medical Examiner’s Office took custody of the body for identification and autopsy purposes, sheriff’s Lt. William Amavisca said.

The man went missing at around 5 p.m. Friday. Searchers, including personnel in a sheriff’s helicopter, scoured the area over the next three days in hopes of finding him alive.

Three Sisters Falls in Descanso, Calif., in September 2022. (Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service)

During the effort, authorities closed the waterfall area and adjacent trails. The area has been reopened, Amavisca said.

Authorities advise hikers to exercise extreme caution when visiting the scenic area, which has been the site of many serious accidents, including a woman’s fatal fall from a footpath alongside the waterfalls on June 8.

“This trail is extremely strenuous, and it is not for beginners,” Amavisca said.