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Entries Tagged as 'warren county'

Adirondack Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Highlights: 10/05-10/11/15

October 14th, 2015 · No Comments · Adirondack News

NYSDEC LogoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the backcountry.

“DEC Forest Rangers’ knowledge of first aid, land navigation and technical rescue techniques are often critical to the success of their missions,” said Acting DEC Commissioner Marc Gerstman. “Search and rescue missions often require Rangers to function in remote wilderness areas from rugged mountainous peaks to white-water rivers, and through vast forest areas from spruce-fir thicket to open hardwoods.”


Recent missions carried out by DEC Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks include:

Essex County
Town of Jay – Private Land
Lost Individual: On October 6, 2015 at 9:39 a.m. Essex County 911 transferred a call to DEC Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a lost 60-year-old woman from Jay, NY. The woman followed her dog into a wooded area on private property and could not find her way out. Essex County 911 provided the woman’s GPS coordinates to DEC Dispatch. A DEC Forest Ranger responded and located the woman at 10:58 a.m. in good condition. The Ranger escorted her back to her vehicle.

Town of Keene – Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area
Lost Hikers: On October 10, 2015 at 6:03 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a request for assistance from two hikers who had gone off trail coming down Weston Mountain to Crow Clearing. Essex County 911 obtained GPS coordinates which placed the 34-year-old woman and 28-year-old man, both from Chicago, IL approximately 30-40 yards off trail. DEC Forest Rangers responded to Crow Clearing and headed in the hikers direction, based on the coordinates. Rangers located the pair on the trail at 7:28 p.m., gave them food and water and escorted them back to the trailhead. The incident concluded 8:30 p.m.

Town of Keene – High Peaks Wilderness
Overdue Hikers: On October 10, 2015 at 10:22 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a hiker reporting that two members of his hiking party, a 22-year-old woman and 24-year-old man, both from Buffalo, NY had not returned from hiking Gothics. A DEC Forest Ranger responded to the Garden parking lot and interviewed the reporting party. Rangers determined it would be best to start searching for the subjects at first light the following morning. At 6:30 a.m., three Forest Rangers began searching for the missing hikers via the Garden parking lot. Dispatch received a call from the reporting party at 9:50 a.m. that the missing hikers found their way out and returned to the Wilmington Notch Campground where they were staying. Forest Rangers aborted their search efforts after being notified.

Town of North Elba – High Peaks Wilderness
Injured Hiker: On October 11, 2015 at 4:32 p.m., DEC Ray Brook received a call from a hiker reporting that a 31-year-old female member of her hiking party sustained a lower leg injury. It happened during a hike from Lake Arnold, approximately one mile from Marcy Dam. Members of the hiking party assisted the injured woman to Marcy Dam. Ray Brook Dispatch contacted the Marcy Dam caretaker to meet the party and assist in transporting her to the outpost, while a DEC Forest Ranger responded to Marcy Dam on a Utility Terrain Vehicle. The Ranger transported the woman back to her vehicle where she said she would seek medical attention on her own. The incident concluded at 7:00 p.m.

Franklin County
Town of Brighton – St. Regis Canoe Area
Lost Hunter: On October 10, 2015 at 4:30 p.m., campus safety at Paul Smith’s College contacted DEC Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a lost student. The 26-year-old man from Elma, NY went hunting off Keese Mills Rd. near the college and did not return. DEC Forest Rangers responded to the area and located the man’s vehicle. Dispatch advised the hunter to call Franklin County 911 to obtain coordinates from his phone. The coordinates provided were inaccurate and Rangers determined the man was farther away than anticipated. Rangers used shouting and gun shots to locate the man at 9:36 p.m. and then escorted him to his vehicle. The incident concluded at 10:30 p.m.

Herkimer County
Town of Webb – Fulton Chain Wild Forest
Injured Hiker: On October 10, 2015 at 2:12 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Herkimer County 911 requesting assistance for a 54-year-old woman from Syracuse, NY with a leg injury on Bald Mountain. DEC Forest Rangers arrived on scene and headed up the mountain along with Webb Police and the Old Forge Fire and Rescue Squad. They packaged the woman at the summit and carried her down to the trailhead. Once at the trailhead she told Rangers she would seek medical attention on her own. The incident concluded at 4:46 p.m.

Warren County
Town of Bolton – Cat and Thomas Mountain Preserve Conservation Easement Lands
Lost Hikers: On October 7, 2015 at 5:55 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call reporting a 59-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman, both from Sarasota, FL became disoriented while hiking the Cat and Thomas Mountain Preserve Trail and could not determine which trail to take back to the trailhead. The hikers called 911 requesting assistance. A DEC Forest Ranger responded to the trailhead on Valley Woods Road in Bolton Landing, located the man and woman at 9:00 p.m., and escorted them back to the trailhead by 10:30 p.m.

Town of Bolton – Lake George Wild Forest
Lost Hikers: On October 9, 2015 at 11:44 a.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a hiker and his companion reporting they were lost on the South Trail, 5th Point Peak, in the Tongue Mountain Range. The men, both 29, one from Saratoga Springs, NY and the other from Troy, NY became disoriented that morning after camping on 5th Peak. Warren County 911 obtained GPS coordinates that placed the men close to the shoreline of Lake George. DEC Forest Rangers used a boat from Green Island to travel up Lake George to their location. The Rangers located the men at 1:58 p.m. in good condition and transported them to Green Island by boat. Rangers then gave the men a ride from a Forest Ranger Patrol vehicle back to their own vehicle parked at the 5th Peak trailhead. The incident concluded at 3:00 p.m.

Washington County
Town of Fort Ann – Lake George Wild Forest
Lost Hikers: On October 11, 2015 at 6:30 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Washington County 911 reporting two hikers lost near Inman Pond. Two DEC Forest Rangers responded to the Inman Pond Trailhead. At 7:00 p.m. the 64-year-old man from Charlton, NY and the 61-year-old woman from Saratoga Springs, NY contacted DEC Ray Brook Dispatch via cell phone. Dispatch instructed the lost hikers on how to get coordinates from their iPhone and then relayed those coordinates to the Forest Rangers at the trailhead. At approximately 7:47 p.m., Forest Rangers located the hikers and escorted them back to the trailhead without further incident.

Town of Fort Ann – Lake George Wild Forest
Injured Hiker: On October 12, 2015 at 2:37 p.m., DEC Ray Brook received a call from a passing hiker reporting an injured female hiker approximately 1/2 mile from the summit of Sleeping Beauty. DEC Forest Rangers responded to the Dacy Clearing Parking area. The West Ft. Ann Fire and Rescue Squad also responded and set up a staging area at the Upper Hogtown parking area. Rangers located the 48-year-old woman from Gansevoort, NY at 3:39 p.m. and provided her with first aid for the injury. They escorted her out to the trailhead where Fort Ann EMS assessed her and she declined any additional medical treatment. The incident concluded at 4:31 p.m.

Town of Fort Ann – Lake George Wild Forest
Injured Hiker: On October 12, 2015 at 4:00 p.m., DEC Forest Rangers responded to a report of a 46-year-old woman from Clifton Park, NY with a lower leg injury along the Sleeping Beauty trail system. Rangers assessed the woman and provided first aid before escorting her out to the trailhead where the Fort Ann EMS assessed her further. The woman then declined any additional medical treatment. The incident concluded at 4:31 p.m.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hiking Safety and Adirondack Trail Information webpages for more information.

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Adirondack Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Highlights: 9/14-9/20/15

September 21st, 2015 · No Comments · Adirondack News

NYSDEC LogoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the backcountry.

“DEC Forest Rangers’ knowledge of first aid, land navigation and technical rescue techniques are often critical to the success of their missions,” said Acting DEC Commissioner Marc Gerstman. “Search and rescue missions often require Rangers to function in remote wilderness areas from rugged mountainous peaks to white-water rivers, and through vast forest areas from spruce-fir thicket to open hardwoods.”


Recent missions carried out by DEC Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks include:

Essex County
Town of North Elba – High Peaks Wilderness
Injured hiker: On September 16, 2015 at 11:30 a.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from ADK Loj reporting it had been notified of an injured hiker approximately 20 minutes above the Street and Nye Mountain junction on the Street Mountain trail. The 24-year-old woman from Cold Springs, NY fell and sustained a lower leg injury. DEC Forest Rangers responded to Adirondack Loj and reached the injured woman at 2:15 p.m. They provided first aid and she managed to walk out slowly with assistance. They returned to Adirondack Loj at 6:15 p.m. The woman drove herself to Adirondack Medical Center – Lake Placid for treatment.

Town of Keene – High Peaks Wilderness
Distressed hiker: On September 19, 2015 at 6:17 p.m., Essex County 911 contacted DEC Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a 23-year-old man from New London, CT in medical distress approximately ΒΌ of a mile up the Big Slide trail from the Garden parking area. 911 dispatched the Keene Fire Department and Keene Valley Fire Department and EMS at the time of the call. DEC Forest Rangers responded to the Garden parking area. Fire Department personnel, with assistance from Forest Rangers, loaded the man into a litter and carried him back to the trailhead. The Keene Valley Ambulance transported him to Elizabethtown Community Hospital for treatment. The incident concluded at 7:37 p.m.

Town of Keene – High Peaks Wilderness
Stranded climbers: On September 20, 2015 at 6:20 p.m., a 45-year-old female hiker from Corinth, NY contacted DEC Ray Brook Dispatch reporting that she and her climbing companion, a 52-year-old woman also from Corinth, NY, were unable to descend Cascade Falls. The pair climbed Cascade Falls with the intention of bushwhacking back to the main trail, but they became disoriented once they reached the top of the falls and determined they could not safely make it back down. DEC Forest Rangers responded to assist the women back down. They short roped and belayed them to the base of the falls and escorted them back to their vehicle at the Cascade Day Use Area. The incident concluded at 9:30 p.m.

St. Lawrence County
Town of Clifton – Cranberry Lake Wild Forest
Injured hiker: On September 14, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. a DEC Forest Ranger advised DEC Ray Brook Dispatch of radio traffic dispatching the Cranberry Lake Fire Department to Bear Mountain to assist an injured 65-year-old female hiker from Luts, FL. The Forest Ranger responded along with Cranberry Lake and Star Lake Fire Department personnel. The hiker had fallen on a root near the summit and sustained a lower leg injury. They carried the woman out in a litter to the trailhead. Cranberry Lake Rescue transported her to Clifton-Fine Hospital in Star Lake at 9:30 p.m.

Warren County
Town of Bolton – Lake George Wild Forest
Distressed hiker: On September 15, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. Warren County 911 contacted DEC Ray Brook Dispatch about a 65-year-old male hiker from Clifton Park, NY in medical distress on Cat Mountain trail, approximately 15 minutes from the Cat & Thomas Mountain trailhead. The man had hiked Mount Severance in Schroon Lake that morning and then met a friend to hike Cat & Thomas Mountains. As they were headed back to the Cat Mountain trailhead the hiker collapsed on the trail. One Forest Ranger responded along with members of the Bolton Fire Department and EMS. They carried the hiker back to the trailhead at 6:25 p.m. and Bolton EMS transported him to Glens Falls hospital.

Washington County
Town of Fort Ann – Lake George Wild Forest
Lost hiker: On September 16, 2015 at 11:33 a.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from the friend of a 30-year-old female hiker from Fort Ann, NY lost on the trail to Inman Pond. DEC Dispatch made contact with her by text message and she told them she was near the pond but not on the trail. DEC Forest Rangers responded to the Inman Pond trailhead off Shelving Rock Road where they located the woman’s vehicle. DEC Dispatch advised the woman to contact 911 to obtain her GPS coordinates, but the coordinates obtained were not usable.

Forest Rangers then used binoculars to scan Crossett Lake and located the woman. At 2:17 p.m. Forest Rangers established voice contact at the northwest end of Crossett Pond. They escorted her back to trailhead at 3:35 p.m. and gave her a courtesy ride back to her vehicle.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hiking Safety and Adirondack Trail Information webpages for more information.

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Adirondack Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Highlights: 8/24-8/30/15

September 1st, 2015 · No Comments · Adirondack News

NYSDEC LogoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the backcountry.

“DEC Forest Rangers’ knowledge of first aid, land navigation and technical rescue techniques are often critical to the success of their missions,” said DEC Acting Commissioner Marc Gerstman. “Search and rescue missions often require Rangers to function in remote wilderness areas from rugged mountainous peaks to white-water rivers, and through vast forest areas from spruce-fir thicket to open hardwoods.”


Recent missions carried out by DEC Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks include:

Warren County
Town of Chester – Private Land
Lost youth: On August 24, 2015 at 7:30 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a transferred call from Warren County 911 from a 15-year-old lost male from Gormley, Ontario, Canada. The boy, vacationing with family nearby, had gone for a run and gotten lost on logging trails on private property. A DEC Forest Ranger used GPS coordinates from the teen’s cell phone to locate the boy in good health at 8:45 p.m. The Ranger returned him to his family at 9:30 p.m.

Washington County
Town of Fort Ann – Lake George Wild Forest
Lost hiker: On August 25, 2015 at 11:36 a.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a transferred call from Warren County 911 from a 51-year-old woman from Buffalo, NY, lost on Buck Mountain. She left from the Pilot Knob side of Buck Mountain at 10:30 a.m., and became lost at 11:20 a.m. The woman then directly called Ray Brook Dispatch with coordinates and elevation bearings from her cell phone, which placed her near the Butternut Creek on Buck Mountain. Dispatch told her to wait there, while two DEC Forest Rangers responded to the area. One Forest Ranger entered Buck Mountain through the Pilot Knob side while the other Forest Ranger entered through the Inman Pond Trail. They located her near Butternut Creek at 1:50 p.m. and escorted her back to her vehicle. The incident concluded at 3:01 p.m.

Town of Fort Ann – Lake George Wild Forest
Lost hikers: On August 30, 2015 at 7:13 p.m., Washington County 911 transferred a call to DEC Ray Brook Dispatch from a male hiker, lost with his 18-year-old daughter on the Shelving Rock Trail System. A DEC Forest Ranger made direct contact with the father and located the pair at 10:38 p.m. The Ranger escorted them out of the woods and back to their vehicle at 11:06 p.m.

Essex County
Town of North Elba – High Peaks Wilderness
Distressed hiker: On August 27, 2015 at 4:50 p.m., Essex County 911 transferred a call to DEC Ray Brook Dispatch from a 39-year-old woman in medical distress on top of Algonquin Mountain. A DEC Forest Ranger spoke to the woman and determined an aviation rescue was necessary. New York State Police Aviation inserted a Forest Ranger to access and prepare the woman for hoist. At 6:39 p.m., they hoisted her off the summit and transported her to Adirondack Health Center in Saranac Lake for further medical treatment.

Town of Keene – High Peaks Wilderness
Distressed hiker: On August 27, 2015 at 5:00 p.m., DEC Ray Brook received a radio call from Johns Brook Loj reporting a 77-year-old woman from New York, NY in medical distress approximately .5 miles from Johns Brook Loj. Hikers who encountered the woman along the trail reported her status to Loj staff members. Loj staff members assessed the woman and assisted her back to the Loj. New York State Police Aviation transported two DEC Forest Rangers into Johns Brook Valley. The woman was airlifted to Marcy Field where she was transferred to Keene Valley EMS and taken to Elizabethtown Hospital for further medical treatment.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hiking Safety and Adirondack Trail Information webpages for more information.

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