Credit: Patrick Grego
On the morning of Aug. 2, a party of five adults and two children set off to climb Stissing Mountain. The weather was warm and overcast, but not particularly threatening. By 1 p.m., the group had reached the firetower.
“It was beautiful,” said Ana Milena Daza of Holbrook N.Y., who climbed the mountain along with her husband, three other relatives and two granddaughters, ages 8 and 10. “We loved it up there.” The family took photos, enjoyed a snack and drank most of their water.
But by 2 p.m. one of the summer’s fiercest storms had slammed into the mountain.
Blinded by heavy rain, high winds and lightning, the party of novice hikers raced to descend. Disoriented, they unknowingly left the trail that would have taken them back to the parking lot on Lake Road. Instead of traveling north, they went due south and wound up in the back of the mountain in the 590-acre Multiple Use Area, which is largely trail-less state land.
“It’s pretty wild back there,” said New York State Forest Ranger Aubrey Russo, who participated in the rescue. “There were actually two storms, one after the other. There was a lot of flooding in the area and trees were down.”
Credit Peter Klebnikov
“We took a wrong turn, and all of a sudden we had no idea where we were,” said Daza. “It started getting dark, and the kids were crying. We were very worried. We got scared, very scared.”
The first of several 911 calls from Daza and her husband came into dispatch at 4 p.m. The first to respond, 15 minutes later, was Pine Plains Police Corporal Steven Camburn, a third generation Pine Plains resident who is well acquainted with the hazards of the Multiple Use Area. He hiked up the mountain through the storm.
A massive search ensued, ultimately involving the Pine Plains, Stanfordville and Milan police and fire departments and several utility task vehicles equipped with gurneys. The search parties raced up the mountain from two sides aiming for the place where the last 911 call had been made.
The rescue effort was particularly challenging because after the hikers called 911, they kept moving. “It’s hard to keep kids still when they are outside in a lightning storm,” said Russo, adding, “When you are lost it’s important to stay where you are after calling 911. If you keep moving, we have to constantly get new coordinates on where you are, your phone may die and then you can be in real trouble.”
At a certain point, Daza said, “We told ourselves, Let’s not panic, let’s focus, let’s stay together, and the police and fire people will help us. It was hard for the kids though.” Throughout the ordeal, Milan, Pine Plains and Stanfordville rescuers were on the phone with the group. “They guided us towards them,” Daza added.
The group ultimately walked four miles off track in the direction of Hicks Hill Road, three miles more than they had planned to hike. At 7 p.m. Milan firefighters Angela Williams, Tom Remsburger, Michael Tucker and Kurt Mizgier found the party, deep in the Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area.
Credit: Kurt Mizgier
“When we saw our rescuers, we wanted to hug them,” said Daza. “We are very grateful.”
“We gave them water and blankets,” said Mizgier, 1st Assistant Chief at the Milan Fire Department. “They were very dehydrated.”
“We tried to drink rainwater,” said Daza. “But it was hard.”
The rescue was a textbook display of teamwork by the five units, all of them coordinated through the 911 dispatch center. “The fire departments can all talk to each other on dedicated channels,” said Mizgier, “but the other teams need to coordinate through 911.”
Key to the effort was Camburn, a seven-year veteran of the Pine Plains police force. “Corporal Camburn was awesome to work with,” said Russo. “He had already hiked all the way up Stissing Mountain to search for the hikers when I got there. I told him we can take it from there as we were going several miles further in, but he said, ‘No I’m coming with you,’ and so we searched through the storm. It was great to have him there.”
The New York State Forest Service is usually the first responder for any emergency in the wilderness. “We are the multi-tool,” said Russo. “We’re federally trained in search and rescue, we are trained in fire-fighting and law enforcement and we have medical training.” Typical rescues include hikers who are lost, injured or dehydrated. For Russo, it was the second rescue of lost hikers on Stissing Mountain this summer.
According to the State Department of Conservation’s Jeff Wernick, there were 197 search and rescue operations since 2020 in Region 3, which covers Ulster, Sullivan, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester Counties.
Besides not moving after you call 911, the Forest Service offers a number of common-sense tips for hikers:
- Tell someone where you are going.
- Wear correct footwear. “We’ve had people who got into trouble who were wearing crocs or flip-flops on the mountain,” said Russo.
- Have a backup battery for your phone.
- Take enough water. “Our most common calls are from severely dehydrated hikers,” said Russo.
Asked if they will still go hiking, Daza said. “We would love to come back to this area. It is so beautiful, and everyone here was so nice to us. We are truly grateful.”
That night, the rescuers from the Milan, Stanfordville, and Pine Plains fire and police departments and the Forest Rangers gathered for an after action review. “We’re always trying to do better,” Russo said.