Search and rescue teams headed into woods near Monsey to find the lost family. 

By Ben Crnic From Daily Voice

A family hiking trip in Rockland County took a frightening turn last week when a father and his five children became lost in the woods after dark — before being found safe hours later by rescue teams.

The incident happened Thursday evening, Oct. 16, when Chaverim of Rockland received a call from a hiker who said he was with five children, ages 9 to 17, on wooded trails near Monsey, according to The Monsey Scoop.

The group, visiting from the Five Towns on Long Island, had set out earlier in the day but later called the organization’s hotline for help navigating out of the area using a paper map. 

At first, the caller told volunteers they only needed directions, but as daylight faded, Chaverim coordinators advised them to stay put, warning that it gets dark quickly in the woods before nightfall, according to the outlet. 

About 20 minutes later, the hiker called back, admitting the group had become disoriented. While they still had cell reception, they could not provide an exact location — only the color of the trail markers. With temperatures dropping below 50 degrees, rescuers realized the family was not properly dressed for the cold.  

Chaverim’s trained Search and Rescue teams immediately began a rescue mission, deploying four teams into the woods shortly after 6 p.m. to begin searching through difficult, low-visibility terrain.

After more than three hours of searching, one of the teams located the family around 10 p.m. and safely guided them out of the woods, according to the outlet. All six of them were unharmed. 

Click here to view the full report by The Monsey Scoop.