Post by MtnGoat2 on Mar 14, 2008 9:04:27 GMT -5
The day started out with my two hiking companions having a heated dispute over where to eat breakfast while I had three packboards laid out on the livingroom floor with piles of extra socks, hats, mittens, flashlights and accessories for two adults and 7 children stuffed inside.
After the breakfast dispute got settled, we drove to Gorham, NH and crossed the Androscoggin River to head up to Mt. Hayes and Cascade Mtn. The day went fairly smooth and we enjoyed the views from atop the bald, rocky summits before heading back out.
My oldest daughter, Jana, and her boyfriend were up ahead on the trail with two of my other daughters, Jill and Susan...
Angela and I were in the middle while the rest were in back of us.
We came to a junction that was unmarked and almost invisable and started to go straight but Angela's keen eyes caught the trail to the right. I called to the others up ahead to make sure they hadn't gone straight but got no answer back. We waited for the stragglers to catch up and voiced our concerns to my brother, the marathon runner...
'Hey Larry, why don't you run down to the parking lot to see if the kids took the right trail, then come back here to let us know - meanwhile, we'll go down the straight path to see if we can catch them' --- The deal was sealed and we went off on our separate paths.
The 'straight path' eventually brought us down to the river and there were no kids to be seen, so asuming they had gone the right way, we turned around to meet back up at the junction. Larry returned and said no one was down at the car.
We decided right then and there that we'd better get search and rescue involved because daylight was fading fast and where the kids had warm clothing in their packs, this was October and the nights get pretty cool.
Larry stayed and did some trail running while the rest of us went and found the Gorham police, who in turn organized a search party for the missing kids.
The Berlin Times put out the story this way:
CHILDREN GET LOST WHILE HIKING
Gorham -- A family hiking trip nearly turned tragic as four children were lost in the woods for more than an hour after darkness fell last night.
The children, ages eight, 13 and two 16-year olds, wandered out of the darkness at the trestle on the Berlin-Gorham Road at 5:45 pm. They were in good condition, just a little cold.
"Three of us knew we were going to get out but Susan, who's eight, was crying. She didn't think we'd get out" said Jill, 13, after walking out. It was scary, but we knew we'd make it!"
The youngsters were walking ahead of the adults and veered off on the wrong trail, they said.
"We took the wrong trail because it wasn't marked well, Jill said.
The lost children were, Jill, Susan Brown, 8, Jana Brown, 16, and Justin Denbow, 16.
Lainie says the adults almost made the same mistake. "We started off in the wrong direction but caught ourselves - I guess they didn't.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Consevation Officer Doug Gralenski says the situation was handled with care.
"We had some overdue juveniles who were caught in the dark, so we had some concern," he said. " We anticipated that the situation would work itself out, which it did."
End of article but not end of story...
While the search party was getting organized in the parking lot, Larry came out of the woods first... People were gathering, spot lights were shining all over the place, maps were spread out on hoods of cars, reporters started showing up. Then over the bridge the kids came... whoops and hollars! This ordeal was over! And Mom cried most of the way home...
After the breakfast dispute got settled, we drove to Gorham, NH and crossed the Androscoggin River to head up to Mt. Hayes and Cascade Mtn. The day went fairly smooth and we enjoyed the views from atop the bald, rocky summits before heading back out.
My oldest daughter, Jana, and her boyfriend were up ahead on the trail with two of my other daughters, Jill and Susan...
Angela and I were in the middle while the rest were in back of us.
We came to a junction that was unmarked and almost invisable and started to go straight but Angela's keen eyes caught the trail to the right. I called to the others up ahead to make sure they hadn't gone straight but got no answer back. We waited for the stragglers to catch up and voiced our concerns to my brother, the marathon runner...
'Hey Larry, why don't you run down to the parking lot to see if the kids took the right trail, then come back here to let us know - meanwhile, we'll go down the straight path to see if we can catch them' --- The deal was sealed and we went off on our separate paths.
The 'straight path' eventually brought us down to the river and there were no kids to be seen, so asuming they had gone the right way, we turned around to meet back up at the junction. Larry returned and said no one was down at the car.
We decided right then and there that we'd better get search and rescue involved because daylight was fading fast and where the kids had warm clothing in their packs, this was October and the nights get pretty cool.
Larry stayed and did some trail running while the rest of us went and found the Gorham police, who in turn organized a search party for the missing kids.
The Berlin Times put out the story this way:
CHILDREN GET LOST WHILE HIKING
Gorham -- A family hiking trip nearly turned tragic as four children were lost in the woods for more than an hour after darkness fell last night.
The children, ages eight, 13 and two 16-year olds, wandered out of the darkness at the trestle on the Berlin-Gorham Road at 5:45 pm. They were in good condition, just a little cold.
"Three of us knew we were going to get out but Susan, who's eight, was crying. She didn't think we'd get out" said Jill, 13, after walking out. It was scary, but we knew we'd make it!"
The youngsters were walking ahead of the adults and veered off on the wrong trail, they said.
"We took the wrong trail because it wasn't marked well, Jill said.
The lost children were, Jill, Susan Brown, 8, Jana Brown, 16, and Justin Denbow, 16.
Lainie says the adults almost made the same mistake. "We started off in the wrong direction but caught ourselves - I guess they didn't.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Consevation Officer Doug Gralenski says the situation was handled with care.
"We had some overdue juveniles who were caught in the dark, so we had some concern," he said. " We anticipated that the situation would work itself out, which it did."
End of article but not end of story...
While the search party was getting organized in the parking lot, Larry came out of the woods first... People were gathering, spot lights were shining all over the place, maps were spread out on hoods of cars, reporters started showing up. Then over the bridge the kids came... whoops and hollars! This ordeal was over! And Mom cried most of the way home...