Rangers rescue sick, injured, lost people
State Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers rescued a rock climber after a fall and several other sick and injured people in the Adirondacks last week.
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Town of Johnsburg
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On Saturday, Aug. 4, ranger Arthur Perryman was investigating a supposed illegal all-terrain vehicle trail on private land that led onto state land. The next day, Perryman found two men on the illegal trail near the summit of Crane Mountain.
The two men — a 50-year-old male from Johnstown and a 51-year-old male from Warrensburg — were found to be in possession of hand and chain saws and digging tools. The men were ticketed for illegal ATV use on state land, and the investigation is ongoing.
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Town of North Elba
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Just after 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 6, DEC dispatch received a radio call that an 18-year-old Michigan man was suffering the effects of dehydration and heat exhaustion on the summit of Algonquin Peak.
Rangers Jim Giglinto and Robbi Mecus reached the man, whose condition had not improved, and made the determination to have him airlifted off the mountain. State Police Aviation responded, and by 6:30 p.m. the man was at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake.
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Town of Keene
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Just before 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 6, DEC dispatch received a call about a 60-year-old woman who was suffering from low blood sugar on Basin Mountain. By 8 p.m., the woman’s group had reached Slant Rock lean-to and were joined by two rangers and the Johns Brook Outpost caretaker.
Due to the long distance and time of day, it was decided the group would spend the night at the lean-to. At about 6:20 a.m. on Aug. 7, the hiker’s condition deteriorated, and State Police Aviation was requested to extract the woman. During a break in the weather, the police helicopter, with a ranger hoist operator, extracted the hikers and flew them to Marcy Field, where they were turned over to the Keene Valley rescue squad.
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Town of Waterford
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More than a half-dozen forest rangers assisted with a search for an autistic 14-year-old boy on Wednesday, Aug. 8. The next day, searchers located the body of the boy after 5 p.m. in the river. The Saratoga County sheriff’s office is continuing the investigation.
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Town of Keene
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At 12:10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11, rangers responded to a call for a rock climber who had fallen while climbing Pitchoff Mountain. Three rangers responded and reached the 38-year-old Rhode Island man at 12:28 p.m.
The man was assessed and secured to a backboard before being lowered using rope rescue techniques. The man was delivered to an ambulance at 1:40 p.m. and then transported to Elizabethtown Community Hospital. The subject was later airlifted to Burlington for additional care.
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Town of Johnsburg
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On Sunday, Aug. 12, a female hiker called DEC dispatch from the Bog Meadow Trail in Bakers Mills, saying she had underestimated the time it would take to finish the hike. The caller said she had no headlamp and felt unsafe continuing in the dark.
Forest Rangers Arthur Perryman and Nancy Ganswindt responded and located the woman in good health. She was back at the trailhead at 5:11 a.m. the following morning.