Snowmobiler dies from crash injuries
Forest rangers with the state Department of Environmental Conservation responded to two fatal incidents in the Adirondacks this week.
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Rail Trail crash
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LAKE CLEAR — Ray Brook Dispatch called Forest Ranger Adams about a snowmobile crash near McCauley Pond at 2:20 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1. Adams was on snowmobile patrol and reached the scene with Forest Ranger Hannah O’Connor at 2:45 p.m.
The Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad and Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department were assisting the 39-year-old subject from New Jersey, subsequently identified as Steven J. Fernandez. Rangers Andrew Lewis and Robert Praczkajlo helped package the patient in a litter and joined rescuers in transporting him to the trail — as the snowmobile had gone off the trail — and a staged UTV.
An ambulance met the UTV for transport to a Life Net helicopter at Lake Clear Airport, which took the subject to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. State Police informed rescuers that the patient died from his injuries. Resources were clear at 4:41 p.m.
Judging by the tracks, State Police and DEC Forest Rangers determined the snowmobiler lost control around a left turn and crashed into several trees.
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Jessup Forest death
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LAKE PLEASANT — The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Dispatch requested DEC Forest Ranger assistance in the search for a missing subject at 12:40 p.m. on Sunday. The family of the 44-year-old from Rotterdam was concerned for his well-being. State Police found the subject’s car on state Route 30 just west of Jessup Bridge.
Rangers Nicholas Caswell, Robert Hamm and Allison O’Connell, along with Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputies, followed footprints from the car and at 3:15 p.m., located the subject deceased in the Jessup River Wild Forest. They transported the subject to the coroner.
No information on the cause of death was provided.