The Oak Ridge Fire Department used cell phone signals and a search crew in a boat to rescue three lost mountain bikers at Haw Ridge Park on Sunday night.
Note: This story was updated at 3:45 p.m. June 15.
The Oak Ridge Fire Department used cell phone signals and a search crew in a boat to rescue mountain bikers lost at Haw Ridge Park after dark on Sunday.
Dispatchers received a call that the three young men were lost at about 10 p.m. Sunday. Three firefighters launched a large rescue boat stored at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, by about 10:45 p.m. from a boat ramp at Solway Park, which is near Haw Ridge Park.
Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said the three had stayed on the trails past sunset and became disoriented.
“Without flashlights, they were unable to find their way back to the parking lot, so they called 911 for assistance,” Kerley said.
The mountain bikers were found at about 11 p.m. between an island and power lines that cross over the Clinch River to Solway. Rescuers used the 911 computer system and cell phone pings to determine the approximate location of the men using their cell phone coordinates. They were reported to be about three miles from the parking area at Haw Ridge Park on Red Shore Trail, on the lake side of Haw Ridge.
The three were not injured, and they and their bikes were loaded into the rescue boat. Firefighters shuttled them from a boat ramp at Solway Park back to their vehicle at Haw Ridge Park. Their identities were not immediately available.
Haw Ridge is a hilly, 780-acre park off Edgemoor Road in east Oak Ridge, and it is used by hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Leave a Reply