9 hikers from Chicago, Indiana rescued after getting lost in Kentucky's Red River Gorge
Nine young men are safe after getting lost and eventually being rescued while hiking in Kentucky's Red River Gorge over the weekend. They had traveled from northwest Indiana looking for a quick getaway after severe storms hit their area.
Members of the search-and-rescue team who helped save the friends say the area is extremely treacherous and potentially dangerous even in daylight and perfect conditions. The incident happened Saturday night as a storm moved in.
The friends, looking to get away from storms, found themselves stranded in the dark, surrounded by steep cliffs and unsure which way to turn.
"We shined our flashlights, and it just looked like a straight drop, like a straight cliff and at that point we were pretty scared," said Zach Salus.
"Most of us, I think, were scared we were going to be stranded," said Michael Zaronias.
The friends say trying to find their way back was quickly disorienting. They didn't have any survival supplies, no food or water and at first say there were some disagreements on what to do next.
"Kind of a lot of differing opinions. People wanting to leave, people wanting to stay, people wanting to go another way," Zaronias said.
"It was very easy for one of us to either split up or even fall," said Zach Salus.
They ultimately called for help around 9:30 p.m. The Wolfe County Search and Rescue team was able to find the stranded hikers using their coordinates near the Indian staircase in the Red River Gorge. They managed to exit the trail around 2 a.m. Sunday.
"We really commend them for doing the right thing, because it could have been a completely different story, and that is not even an official trail there," said Kevin Osborn with the Wolfe County Search and Rescue team.
He says with bad weather moving in and the rugged terrain, a 30-foot line was used to get all nine guys down safely.
"It's a really, really beautiful place, and after dark, it can also be a very dangerous place, because of all the cliffs," Osborn said. "One of the happiest groups of people we've, I think, that I've ever seen that we've rescued."
"The people who rescued us were ... they were beautiful souls, like, they were super nice. They definitely calmed our nerves a lot," said Caiden Kupsik.
The whole ordeal lasted about four and a half hours from the time the guys called for help to when they were rescued.
To avoid similar situations, it is advised to download maps, bring flashlights, pack water and food and call for help right away if you do get lost.
