Update 10:45 a.m. Oct. 2 with memorial and donation information.
Robert Joe William De La Cruz, 27, was identified as the hiker who died Saturday near Julian at Three Sister Falls, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner.
The Coronado resident was hiking with three friends at Three Sisters Falls in Julian and were halfway back to the trailhead when De La Cruz collapsed, according to the medical examiner said.
An air ambulance with paramedics was brought in after 911 was called, but the Medical Examiner said that despite "aggressive medical intervention," De La Cruz was pronounced dead at the scene on Sept. 29.
The cause of death is still being determined.
A memorial Facebook page has been set up in his honor and donations are being solicited to help defray the costs of his services. They will take place in Orange on Saturday, according to a post.
Donations will be accepted at PayPal via this address: rip_rob_action27@hotmail.com.
In a post to the Facebook page, a loved one called de la Cruz, whose face is shown in closeup with vivid green eyes, “my favorite cousin, more like a brother.”
A friend remembered him as “such an inspiration ... He truly loved (and) treated others the way he wanted to be loved (and) treated ... Conscientiously and unconditionally and with lots of laughs.”
