New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. 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 and engage in policing on New York State Lands.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers.
Town of North Elba, Essex County
Wilderness Search: On May 3, at 4:13 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from two hikers lost on the Copperas Pond trail. At 5:05 p.m., Forest Rangers reached the two hikers from Pennsylvania and helped the pair back to the trailhead. Resources were clear at 6:25 p.m.
Town of Keene, Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 4, at 6:15 p.m., Forest Rangers responded to a call from a hiker with a knee injury on Big Slide Mountain. Rangers Black and Curcio reached the hiker from Montreal at 7:40 p.m. They called for additional Rangers to assist with the carry out.
Rangers reached the trailhead at 10:31 p.m. The patient refused further medical treatment.
Town of Keene, Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 4, at 8:15 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a hiker with a broken ankle on Pitchoff Mountain. At 9:37 p.m., seven Forest Rangers and five members of Search and Rescue of the Northern Adirondacks located the 33-year-old from Rochester.
Rescuers carried the subject to the trailhead where her hiking partner drove her to the hospital. Resources were clear at 1:07 a.m.
Town of Russia, Herkimer County
Wilderness Rescue: While on patrol April 29, at 4:01 p.m., Forest Ranger Waligory encountered an injured subject in the grass just north of a public forest access road. The 54-year-old from Boonville had hit a rut while riding a dual sport motorcycle. The subject was thrown from the motorcycle, resulting in a separated shoulder.
Ranger Waligory assessed the subject’s injuries, stabilized his head, and called for an ambulance. At 4:25 p.m., the Poland Fire Department and Kuyahoora Valley Ambulance arrived and transported the subject to the hospital.
Read past Forest Ranger search and rescue reports here.
