Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 13, 1995 TAG: 9503130101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But one of the hikers had a cigarette lighter, so the group managed to start a fire to keep warm.
The quick thinking - and the fact that the hikers stayed in one place - made the difference between a happy ending and a possibly tragic one, said Don Jones, chief of the Catawba-Mason's Cove Rescue Squad.
Jones helped spearhead the search for the hikers - two boys, 17 and 16, and a girl, 14 - after a family member notified authorities that the hikers were missing. Jones said that family member dropped the Roanoke teens off near the base of Dragon's Tooth mountain about 5 p.m. Saturday and returned a short time later to pick them up.
But the hikers - whose names were not available - had misjudged the effort and the time it takes to scale the 21/2 miles to the top of the mountain and then back, Jones said.
``They had no food, water, warm clothing or flashlights,'' Jones said. ``But at least they had enough smarts about them to build a fire and to stay in one place instead of roaming around.''
The hikers were found around midnight Saturday by the first rescue team dispatched, Jones said.
They were checked over by rescue workers at the scene, then released to go home shortly after they were found, Jones said.
``People just have to realize that if you're going to hike, and there's a chance darkness will fall, then you've got to take some precautions - like carrying a flashlight or a whistle,'' he said.
Rescue workers can't get to stranded hikers ``in a flick of a switch,'' Jones said.
``I bet we went up there [to Dragon's Tooth] at least five times on emergency calls last year,'' Jones said. ``And it's not even spring yet this year, and we've already started.''
by CNB