Town of North Elba
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On Nov. 15 at 2:45 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch requested Forest Ranger assistance with the search for a hiker on Mount Marcy. The 35-year-old from Toronto became lost while hiking with her two dogs. After speaking with the hiker, Ranger Curcio determined she had started from the Adirondak Loj, took the high water route, and crossed Indian Falls. Rangers Curcio and DiCintio headed into Marcy Dam to begin a linear search.

Dispatch called the Rangers with a new set of coordinates during their search, placing the hiker approximately 500 feet east of Indian Falls. At 6:24 p.m., Rangers made audio contact with the hiker and found her off trail in thick spruce. Rangers warmed the subject and escorted her and her dogs down to Marcy Dam and then to the Loj. Resources were clear at 9 p.m.

Town of Diana
Lewis County
Storm Response: On Nov. 20 at 9 a.m., Forest Ranger Lieutenant Hogan and Rangers Benzel, Evans, and Hanno responded with Lewis County Emergency Management to help two Diana area residents stranded in a storm that accumulated approximately six feet of snow. One of the two had experienced a cardiac issue. The Long Pond Snowmobile Club used its groomer to break a trail for DEC’s tracked SUV. At 10:45 a.m., Rangers reached the subject, who was in stable condition, and helped him into a Lewis County Search and Rescue ambulance. His companion followed the ambulance to the hospital. Rangers also assisted a third subject trapped in a hunting camp approximately four miles from a plowed road.

Rangers rescue subjects trapped in a snowstorm. DEC photos.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hike Smart NY, Adirondack Backcountry Information, and Catskill Backcountry Information webpages for more information.

If a person needs a Forest Ranger, whether it’s for a search and rescue, to report a wildfire, or to report illegal activity on state lands and easements, they should call 833-NYS-RANGERS. If a person needs urgent assistance, they can call 911. To contact a Forest Ranger for information about a specific location, the DEC website has phone numbers for every Ranger listed by region.