New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. 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.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers.
Town of Granville
Washington County
Wildland Fire: On May 25 at 10:44 a.m., Washington County requested Forest Ranger assistance with the search for an 85-year-old with dementia who walked away from her home. Her husband had last seen her at 9 p.m. the previous day. Ranger Boulton tracked the subject’s foot path through leaf litter and found her laying in the woods off an ATV trail at 12:01 p.m. The subject was disoriented and cold, but uninjured.
Town of Horicon
Warren County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 26 at 2:39 p.m., while on patrol to Pharaoh Lake, Forest Ranger Kabrehl found a 14-year-old from Maryland with a leg injury. The teenager was hiking ahead of his mother. Ranger Kabrehl compression-wrapped the ankle and got crutches to assist the hiker out of the woods. Ranger Kabrehl reunited the subject with his mother and helped them to their vehicle.
Town of Hunter
Greene County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 26 at 3:45 p.m., a hiker called about a fellow hiker with a lower leg injury on the Becker Hollow trail up Hunter Mountain. Four Forest Rangers hiked to the subject, assessed the injury, and splinted her ankle. Rangers helped the injured subject down the mountain where she was met by a friend. Resources were clear at 10:50 p.m.
Town of Wilmington
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 27 at 2:50 p.m., Forest Ranger O’Connor received a call from DEC dispatch regarding two hikers on the Whiteface Landing trail, one of whom was experiencing muscle cramps and couldn’t continue hiking. Rangers O’Connor and Praczkajlo took a four-wheeler and six-wheeler to the Connery Pond trail. Dispatch provided an update to the Rangers that the subjects were headed toward the lean-to on the trail. Rangers Duchene and Lewis also responded to the lean-to. Rangers provided the hikers with food and water before helping the pair to the ATVs for the drive out of the woods. Resources were clear at 6:30 p.m.
Town of Hunter
Greene County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 28 at 5:35 p.m., AFR Staffa witnessed a 46-year-old from New Jersey fall and hurt his leg. AFR Staffa splinted the hiker’s ankle. Forest Ranger Gullen brought in a pair of crutches and helped the hiker out of the woods. Resources were clear at 6:55 p.m.
Town of Rochester
Ulster County
Wilderness Search: On May 28 at 9:20 p.m., Ulster County requested Forest Ranger assistance in the search for a lost hiker in the vicinity of Vernooy Falls. Cell phone coordinates place the 43-year-old a significant distance from the trail. At 11:45 p.m., Ranger Rushed located the subject in a swamp. The hiker from Napanoch had lost the trail and followed a drainage hoping it would lead to the falls, but instead got lost in a swamp. The hiker did not have food or water and her phone’s battery was nearly dead. Ranger Rusher provided snacks and water and helped the hiker bushwhack out to the trailhead. The hiker declined medical treatment. New York State Police provided a courtesy ride to her home.
Village of Ellenville
Sullivan County
Wilderness Search: On May 29 at 7:20 p.m., Forest Ranger Rusher and the Bloomington Fire Department responded to a report of two lost hikers in Roosa Gap State Forest. Cell phone coordinates placed the pair off trail, approximately 1.5 miles from the trailhead. The couple from Astoria began the hike from the Cox Road trailhead at 3:30 p.m., but the pair was unfamiliar with the trails and did not have any means to navigate and got lost in the rocky terrain along the top of the trail. At 10:30 p.m., Ranger Rusher located the hikers, gave them headlamps and assisted them to their vehicle.
Town of Newcomb
Essex County
Wilderness Search: On May 29 ay 8:52 p.m., Essex County requested Forest Ranger assistance with a lost hiker descending Santanoni Peak. Rangers Martin and Sabo reached the subject by 12:00 a.m., rehydrated him, and helped him back to the trailhead. The hiker had very little cell phone battery remaining and was not prepared to spend the night. Rangers remind anyone hiking to carry a map and compass, and not rely on a cell phone for anything but emergencies.
Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 29 at 5:30 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch requested Forest Ranger assistance with a solo climber stranded on the trap dike slide on Mt. Colden. New York State Police Pilot Kotronis flew three Rangers to Avalanche Lake at the base of the trap dike. Rangers Mecus and Rooney climbed up to the 33-year-old from Pleasant Valley, gave him a helmet, placed him in a harness, built anchors, and lowered him approximately 150 feet into the dike. The Rangers then lowered the subject down another 50 feet to a location where he could walk. The Lake Colden Caretaker provided boat transportation following the rescue. Resources were clear at 11:30 p.m.
Read past Forest Ranger search and rescue reports here.
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