Man Rescued While Lost Hiking in Ulster County

Sharp thinking Forest Rangers were able to locate and rescue a 62-year-old man who got lost while hiking in Ulster County.

Monday July 11, New Jersey Police received a call from the daughter of a 62-year-old New Jersey man who had not returned from a hiking trip to the Catskills. Police say the man's computer history showed he researched several locations and trails in the Ulster County area.

The man’s cell phone last "pinged" at Sam's Point Tower on Sunday July 10 around 6:10 p.m. Soon after receiving the call from New Jersey Police, officials found the man's car at Moon Haw Road in Shandaken in the Slide Mountain Wilderness.

Monday July 12 around 7:15 a.m., DEC Forest Rangers began assisting in the search, combing marked and unmarked trails in the Slide Mountain area, including Balsam Cap, one of the locations from the man's computer history.

12 hours later, Rangers located the man walking along Moon Haw Road. Officials say he made it to Balsam Cap but got turned around and hiked several other trails and peaks looking for a way back to his car.

Rangers brought him back to his car where he was evaluated by local EMS and released.