Father, 3-year-old son die in cold water of Lake Champlain after kayak overturns
Updated May 10, 2021;
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A 28-year-old father and his 3-year-old were killed after their kayak overturned on Lake Champlain Friday afternoon, according to New York State Police.
Patrick S. Wells and his 3-year-old son, Beckett L. Wells, both of Willsboro, NY in Essex County, were both found unresponsive in the water about 2:20 p.m., troopers said in a news release Monday.
Police said the two drowned due to hypothermia and cold water exposure.
The temperature of the water this weekend was about 45 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. A person can become unconscious in as little as 30 minutes and can die in one to three hours in water that cold.
NY seeks volunteers to help with increase of hikers at popular trailheads and problems they cause
Updated Apr 09, 3:26 PM;
Posted Apr 09, 3:00 PM
Hikers line up during the early morning hours for a 20-minute wait in the Adirondack LOJ Lodge parking lot before heading off on their excusions for the day.
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New York is looking for volunteers as one way to help deal with the crush and negative impacts of new and inexperienced hikers on popular trailheads of hiking trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills.
Introduced in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2021 State of the State address, the “Adopt-a-Trailhead” program will be managed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The DEC is currently in the process of identifying those trailheads that will benefit most from the new program.
Anglers stuck on floating sheet of ice, snowmobiler hits power pole: DEC Forest Ranger rescues
Updated Mar 16, 2021;
State Forest Rangers came to the rescue recently of two ice fishermen caught on a floating ice sheet on Lake Champlain and a snowmobiler who ran into a power pole.
Those two incidents and others involving state Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers took place between March 14. All information below was supplied by the DEC.
Town of Plattsburgh, Clinton County
Wilderness Rescue: “On March 1 at 3 p.m., Forest Ranger assistance was requested by two DEC Environmental Conservation Police Officers and the Cumberland Head Fire Department for two anglers stranded on a floating ice sheet on Lake Champlain. Fire department personnel accessed the men from Plattsburgh with an inflatable rescue craft and brought one of the subjects safely to shore. When Forest Rangers arrived on the scene, two fire department personnel and the second angler and his gear wer
Jan 7, 2021
PERSIA Over the weekend, the state Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers were notified of a pair of stranded kayakers on Cattaraugus Creek.
The two men had been paddling in high water conditions when one paddler flipped and lost his kayak around 11 a.m. Saturday. The second subject lost his kayak attempting to grab the first. One kayaker landed on the Erie County side of the creek and was able to hike out on his own. The other kayaker landed on the Cattaraugus County side of the creek in an area without safe trail access.
A ranger responded to the scene and rappelled down to kayaker. The ranger harnessed the man to be raised out on a system set up by Forest Ranger Rogers and Gowanda Fire Department and Ambulance. Members of the District 1 Rescue Team also responded to assist. The kayaker did not require medical assistance and was released.