NORTH ELBA, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Forest Rangers rescued a Schenectady teen who lost his way while exploring Algonquin Peak recently. State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Ray Brook dispatch office received a call about a lost 19-year-old hiker in the High Peaks Wilderness at about 8 p.m. on November 27. The caller did not have a specific location but noted that the missing boy had a hiking partner.
With help from New York State Troopers, Rangers checked trail registers and parking lots to determine the location of the two hikers. At 9:30 p.m., the Schenectady teen’s hiking partner called from the Adirondack Loj trailhead and said the pair had become separated. They had last spoken at 5 p.m. when the missing teen descended Iroquois Peak.
At 12:45 a.m., the lost hiker called his father. Rangers directed him to call 911 so responders could get a better location.
The young man was near the summit of Algonquin Peak in waist-deep snow, becoming lethargic, and dozing off, environmental conservation officials said. A Forest Ranger kept him awake on the phone, helping prevent further injury.
Rangers reached the teen shortly before 4:30 a.m. He was hypothermic and lost feeling in his lower legs and feet.
Rangers warmed him, provided food and drink, and assisted the hiker to the trailhead where they met a Lake Placid ambulance at 6:35 a.m. The hiker was taken to Adirondack Medical Center. There has been no update on his wellbeing.