DEC Forest Rangers say a 41-year-old Albany man and a Wilmington woman, also 41, launched a rescue mission after setting off an emergency locator beacon north of Paul Smiths.

DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch said they received call on Wed., Sept. 18 at 10:46 p.m., from an international rescue coordination center advising that a locator beacon had been activated.

Coordinates placed the activation on the Osgood River north of Mountain Pond in the DeBar Mountain Forest.  Forest Ranger Thomas Gliddi reported that he responded and located the pair’s vehicle at 11:49 pm before proceeding into the woods. Ranger Gliddi reported the couple had kayaked earlier in the day and ventured down the Osgood River not realizing they were going the wrong way. The pair had intended to go to Meacham Lake but headed east up Hays Brook, he said.

By the time they realized their mistake, the couple had run out of daylight and were unprepared for an overnight stay, the Ranger said. Leaving their kayaks behind, they bushwhacked toward the Grasse Pond Trail.  They were located at 12:30 am.

Forest Ranger Gliddi provided the pair with warm clothes, escorted them out of the woods, and gave them a courtesy ride back to their vehicle by 1:45 a.m according to his report.

Map of rescue mission area courtesy Adirondack Atlas.