TEMECULA -- Rescuers early Thursday used a hoist to lift a missing 67-year-old hiker off a mountain in the Agua Tibia Wilderness south of Highway 79, authorities said.

The Simi Valley man had gone for a day hike Wednesday in the mountainous area about six miles east of Temecula, and when he did not return, family members reported him missing about 10 p.m., said Lt. Terry Meadows of the Temecula Police Department.

Using a helicopter, sheriff's deputies spotted hiker Lloyd Johnson about 11:30 p.m., near a mountain peak four miles south of Highway 79, Meadows stated in a media release. With help from the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, they lifted him to safety about 2 a.m. Thursday, Meadows said.

Johnson had not been injured and was in good spirits, Meadows said.

He told rescuers his return hike was hampered by overgrown brush on the trail, Meadows said.