Teen hikers found safe in Gulf Hagas

Two 14-year-old Bangor girls were found safe during the early morning hours of Aug. 14 after becoming separated from their group while hiking on the Rim Trail in Gulf Hagas. The girls were hiking the Gulf Hagas region as part of a school leadership program with Camp Jordan located in Ellsworth.

When the girls arrived back from their day’s hike at 6:30 p.m. the night before, it was discovered that two girls were missing although they had been accounted for at the midpoint of their hike. Counselors searched the area and called the Maine Warden Service to respond.

Seven Maine game wardens out of Greenville responded at 10 p.m. They began to hike sections of the trail and at 1:15 a.m. the two girls were located by game wardens. The girls were located 1.5 miles from the trailhead near the Cutover Trail.

The girls stated they had become separated from the group and tried to find the others by taking Cutover Trail; they ended up missing the other group of students. When it was determined they were in fact in unfamiliar territory, they stopped and sat down on the trail. That decision greatly assisted game wardens in finding them quickly. The girls were a little cold but otherwise in good health.