Forest Rangers rescued a suicidal subject near the Hudson River, freed stranded motorists on snowmobile trails, and responded to a late-night snowmobile crash during a busy week across New York.
The incidents were part of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s latest “Week in Review,” which outlines recent statewide actions by Forest Rangers.
In Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County, Ranger Jackson responded Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m. to a report of a missing person believed to be in the woods near a local business. New York State Police and the ranger located the person’s truck and footprints leading into the woods.
At 6:50 p.m., they found the subject near the Hudson River, where the individual had built a fire for warmth. The subject told rescuers they were suicidal. Responders persuaded the person to walk out of the woods and State Police transported the individual to Samaritan Hospital.
In Schoharie County, Ranger France assisted Feb. 19 after three people from Utica became stranded on the Fawn Ridge Road truck trail in Stone Store State Forest. The group had driven onto the unplowed trail around 7 a.m. to go squirrel hunting and could not find a tow operator.
Ranger France, State Police, and the Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office reached the truck by snowmobile. A tow company later used a skid steer to remove the vehicle. Crews cleared the scene shortly after 4 p.m.
That same evening in Essex County, two vehicles became stuck on the Stony Lonesome Road seasonal snowmobile trail in Crown Point. Rangers gave the operator a courtesy ride and arranged for a tow company to remove the vehicles the next morning.
In Clinton County on Feb. 21, Rangers Odell and Russell responded to two more stranded vehicles on a snowmobile trail off Rock Road in Altona. They freed one vehicle late that night. The second vehicle did not pose a hazard to snowmobilers, and rangers coordinated with a local snowmobile club and the owner for removal.
Forest Rangers also assisted with a snowmobile accident in Caroga, Fulton County, on Feb. 20 at 11:30 p.m. Rangers, State Police, and the Caroga Fire Department brought an unresponsive rider from private land to a Fulton County Emergency Management vehicle for transport to Nathan Littauer Hospital.
In Otsego County, Ranger Laymon worked with the Milford Volunteer Fire Department on Feb. 21 to conduct flat ice rescue training on Goodyear Lake. Firefighters used the department’s hovercraft to practice rescue techniques.
Statewide, Forest Rangers conducted 362 search and rescue missions in 2025 and extinguished 202 wildfires that burned 840 acres. Rangers also participated in 68 prescribed burns that rejuvenated 1,649 acres and handled cases resulting in more than 1,100 tickets and arrests. Forty-one rangers deployed to fire assignments in 10 other states last year.
Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis can call or text 988 for New York’s 24-hour hotline.
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