The hikers, all in their late teens, did not require any medical assistance.
MONTGOMERY – State police required a helicopter and K-9 unit to find three hikers who got lost on Tekoa Mountain as darkness fell Tuesday night.
The three men, spotted by the helicopter just north of a cell tower near Reservoir Road along the Westfield/Montgomery line, did not require any medical treatment, Trooper Christopher M. Kudlay said.
The incident began about 7:30 p.m. when the hikers, two of them 18 and the third, 19, dialed 911 to report that they were lost. The sun set Tuesday at 6:03 p.m.
The three had got onto Tekoa, a rugged area known for its wildfires and rattlesnakes, via a trail that ascends behind Strathmore Mill No. 2 on Route 20 in Russell, Kudlay said. “There are a lot of trails up there,” Kudlay said.
The helicopter spotted the three by the cell tower shortly before 8:45 p.m. and the K-9 unit arrived at the scene about an hour later, Kudlay said.
The Westfield Fire Department aided in the rescue.