The 19-year-old who died on a gusty Mount Baldy after falling hundreds of feet during a hike was identified Wednesday as a Bay Area college student.

Santa Clara University freshman Marcus Alexander Casanova, originally from Orange County, was hiking with a buddy Monday when he plunged 500 feet near “Devil’s Backbone.”

Casanova’s friend called for help, prompting a rescue mission by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles County, who located the hiker by helicopter along with two other dead people on the trail, who have not yet been identified.

Blistery high winds made it impossible for rescuers to lift Casanova from the mountain, and instead an air medic was hoisted down, who confirmed that all three people were deceased.

Casanova’s family said he was “an incredibly sweet and empathetic young man.”

“We are destroyed by the loss of our beloved Marcus,” the family said in a statement to KABC. “It is difficult to explain the pain and anguish we are going through and ask for privacy as we try to find our way.”

The teen was a graduate of Los Alamitos High, a freshman at Santa Clara University’s business school and “an avid sailor and outdoorsman,” the grieving family added.

The mountain was closed due to dangerous conditions following the recovery mission, discovery of the two other bodies and rescue of two other stranded hikers on a different trail. It’s expected to reopen on New Year’s Day.

“The tragic loss of life on Mount Baldy and repeated rescue responses highlight how dangerous current conditions are, even for experienced hikers,” San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a statement.

“Weather and terrain conditions remain extremely dangerous and unpredictable, posing a significant risk to both the public and Search and Rescue personnel,” the statement said.

A fine of $5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months will be enforced for anyone violating the closure of Mount Baldy, according to the sheriff’s office.