New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. 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 Adirondack backcountry.

What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks.

Essex County

Town of Schroon
Rescue: On April 8 at 6:30 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from two subjects on top of Pharaoh Mountain. The subjects were concerned that they would not be able to make it off the mountain in the dark. They started the hike late in the day and upon finding deep snow and wet conditions, it took longer to summit. During the call, they complained of being wet, cold, and tired but otherwise they were in good health. They did not have snowshoes to battle the deep, snowy conditions. However, they did have headlamps and began moving back down the trail toward Crane Pond, where they were parked. At 6:40 p.m., Forest Rangers Jacob Deslauriers and Benjamin Baldwin were dispatched to the Crane Pond Trailhead with snowmobiles to intercept the subjects on the trail. The subjects were met at Glidden Marsh and assisted back to the trailhead. By 9 p.m. they returned to the parking lot with no injuries.

Saratoga County

Village of Corinth
Search: On March 29 at 7:41 pm, DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Saratoga County Dispatch requesting assistance for a missing 13-year-old female who had left her home in Corinth. The subject was believed to have gone into the woods behind her home with camping gear. Four Rangers responded and searched the wooded area behind the home along with the New York State Police and Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. During the investigation, the Sheriff’s Deputies discovered that a 15-year-old boyfriend was believed to be in the company of the missing teen. After a negative search of the area, the Sherriff’s Office declared the incident a runaway situation and took over the case.

Be Prepared: Properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hiking Safety webpage and Adirondack Trail Information webpage for more information about where you intend to travel. The Adirondack Almanack reports weekly Outdoor Conditions each Thursday afternoon.