On Tuesday, June 28, at approximately 10:47 AM, DEC Dispatch in Ray Brook received a call reporting two lost individuals.

Bennett Sherry, 25, of Ogdensburg, NY and Jacob Tagg, 20, of Hammond, NY were dropped off 3 days prior at Henderson Lake to do a paddle and camping trip to Tupper Lake through the Cold River area.

During the trip their canoe capsized and all of their gear, including their shoes, was lost.

They attempted to walk out and at one point were able to briefly contact Mr. Sherry’s mother by cell phone.

They reported that they had not eaten in three days. Six DEC Forest Rangers responded and began hasty searches of all the surrounding trails.

Meanwhile, DEC Disptach contacted Verizon and, using the cell phone coordinates, were able to establish their general location.

At 3:09 PM, Mr. Sherry and Mr. Tagg came out of the woods on their own in Long Lake and called their families.

Forest Rangers interviewed the two men and learned they had spent the first 24 hours after the canoe capsized searching for the Northville Placid Trail.

Once they found the trail they walked south on it until the encountered a lean-to where they spent the night.

The next day they proceeded on the Northville-Placid Trail toward Long Lake and made the cell phone call to Mr. Sherry’s mother stating they were three hours from Long Lake.

After placing the phone call the two men continued down the trail until they were able to obtain a boat ride to Long Lake.

Due to unclear cell phone messages, Mr. Sherry’s parents were unsure of the conditions of the subjects or their exact location, only that they had been lost in the High Peaks Wilderness Area for two days.

Mr. Sherry and Mr. Tagg, despite their misfortunes, were not trying to seek assistance, only to report in to their family.

Don’t depend on electronic devices in the Adirondack backcountry. Have an escape plan if things go bad.

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Town of Indian Lake, Blue Mountain Wild Forest

On Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at approximately 1:21 PM, Continue reading →