And this is why you Always, Always, Always stay together when you're hiking.

	DEC Contact: David Winchell 518-897-1248 PressOffice@dec.ny.gov May 11, 2015
Adirondack Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Highlights: 5/4-5/10/15
New 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 Commissioner Joe Martens. “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 High Peaks Wilderness Town of Wilmington Missing Hiker: On May 8, 2015 at 3:50 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a member of a hiking party reporting that one member of their group had failed to meet them at their rendezvous point at the Reservoir trailhead.  They had set out at 9 a.m. to hike Whiteface Mountain. The 29-year-old woman from Eagan, Minnesota was last seen on the trail at 10:00 a.m. when she decided to turn back and return to their vehicle at the trailhead.  The party agreed to meet her there after they completed the hike, but when they arrived back at the vehicle she was not there.  Forest Rangers arrived on scene, interviewed the party and initiated a search of the general area including nearby trails. The woman was located at 5:50 p.m.back at the Reservoir Trailhead. The woman had never returned to the vehicle.  After taking a brief rest, she changed her mind and proceeded up the trail to catch up with her companions.  Unknown to her, they had decided to splinter off and go up Ester Mountain. After failing to meet up with the group she turned around.  While descending she took a wrong turn down the Flume Trails and hiked 2.2 miles in the wrong direction. She encountered a hiker on the trail who walked her out to the Flume Trailhead. The hiker provided her with a ride back to the Reservoir Trailhead where she was reunited with her companions. The incident concluded at 6:15 p.m.