Backcountry rescue crews had a busy week last week when they responded to reports of people missing in Otsego and St. Lawrence County and a medical emergency in Warren County, NY. The bodies of three people were recovered, including an ice climber who suffered a heart attack at Crane Mountain in the Adirondacks.
On Sunday, January 28, Cooperstown, Otsego County, Police requested NYS Forest Ranger assistance in the search for a 43-year-old last seen leaving Bassett Medical Center on Friday, January 26. Two Rangers joined the search efforts.
The following day, two additional Rangers helped conduct linear searches along roads in areas with reported sightings. On Friday, February 2, six Rangers, New York State Police (NYSP), Cooperstown Police, the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office, and DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement continued searching.
At 11:15 am, search crews found the subject deceased in the Susquehanna River. NYSP is leading the investigation.
Then on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 10:15 a.m., Canton, St. Lawrence County, police requested assistance in the search for a 24-year-old last seen on almost 20 days earlier on January 10.
Three Forest Rangers joined Canton Police, St. Lawrence County Department of Probation and the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office in the search.
At 11 am, search crews located the subject deceased in a ditch on County Route 27 just beyond Sykes Road. Crews turned the subject over to the County Coroner. The St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation.
On Sunday, February 4 at about 4:30 pm, NYS DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call for an ice climber who went into cardiac arrest while climbing Crane Mountain, a 3,251-foot mountain northwest of Warrensburg in Warren County popular with rock and ice climbers.
When Forest Rangers reached the subject, the 63-year-old from Thurman was deceased. Rangers and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office packaged the subject, navigated the steep and technical terrain, and turned the subject over to the County Coroner.
Resources were clear at 9:40 pm.
Read past Forest Ranger search and rescue reports here.
Photo: Crane Mountain from Crane Mountain Pond.
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