The Peru Gazette

Albany, May 21, 2026 – New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. 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 across New York State.

Hamlet of Paul Smiths
Franklin County
Training: On May 1 and 2, Forest Ranger Lieutenant LaPierre and Rangers Adams, Bowler, and Corey taught the basic wildland search course for members of Search and Rescue of the Northern Adirondacks (SARNAK.) Rangers often work together with SARNAK on search and rescue missions, so training together makes things more efficient in the event of an actual emergency.

Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 9 at 9:30 p.m., two Forest Rangers responded to a dropped 911 call near the Garden parking lot and trailhead. Essex County Dispatch retrieved cell phone coordinates that placed a 22- and 26-year-old several hundred feet off trail between the Brothers and Phelps trails. At 10:45 p.m., Dispatchers made contact with a friend of the hikers who received a text message with updated coordinates that placed the hikers in Cold Brook Pass in Newcomb. At 1:30 a.m., Lake Colden Caretaker Raudonis reached the pair and assisted them to the outpost to get warm and dry. After spending the night, Caretaker Raudonis assisted the hiking party to the Marcy Dam Outpost. Ranger Jeffery met them and assisted them to the South Meadows trailhead. Resources were clear at 1 p.m.

Town of Warrensburg
Warren County
Water Recovery: On May 10 at 8 p.m., Warren County requested Forest Ranger assistance with the search for a missing kayaker in the Schroon River. NYSP, the Warrensburg Fire Department, and Warren County Sheriff’s Deputies began searching the area behind Library Avenue. At 9:30 p.m., crews found the kayak, but not the 21-year-old from Yonkers. The Warren County Marine Rescue Team and NYSP Underwater Recovery Team searched into the early morning hours with negative results.

The following day, Forest Rangers, DEC Environmental Conservation Police, NYSP, Warren County Sheriff’s Deputies, and the North Queensbury Fire Department continued searching. At 7:45 p.m., the NYSP Underwater Recovery Team located the subject deceased. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation offers its condolences to the family.

Town of Warrensburg
Warren County
Wildland Fire: On May 12 at 4 p.m., Warren County requested Forest Ranger assistance with a brush fire that damaged a structure. Rangers assisted Chester, Horicon, Minerva, Portersville, and Riverside Fire Departments to contain the fire by 8:35 p.m. The cause of the 2-acre fire remains under investigation.

Town of North Elba
Essex County
Wilderness Search: On May 13 at 1:47 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch contacted Forest Ranger Ezumah about a lost hiker near Street and Nye Mountain trail. Rangers Ezumah and Rooney met at the trailhead and made verbal contact with the subject one mile down the trail. They found the 47-year-old from Amherst next to Indian Pass Brook. Rangers provided warming layers and escorted the subject back to their vehicle. Resources were clear at 4:45 p.m.

Town of Elizabethtown
Essex County
Water Rescue and Recovery:  On May 15 at 9:48 p.m., Essex County 911 called Ray Brook Dispatch about two subjects in distress at Lincoln Pond. Three Forest Rangers arrived on scene and determined it was three subjects who were in the water after their canoe and kayak flipped. Rangers assisted two of the subjects out of the water. Members of Horicon Fire Department and EMS transported them to Elizabethtown Hospital to treat them for hypothermia. At 1:04 a.m., the Horicon Fire Department Dive Team recovered the third subject, a 30-year-old from Syracuse, deceased.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation offers its condolences to the family.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s “Hike Smart NY,” “Adirondack Backcountry,” 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.