Helicopter rescues 2 women hikers lost on lava trail

Joe Kolb
Staff Writer

SAN RAFAEL, N.M. — In a daring early morning rescue, two missing female hikers were plucked from an isolated lava rock trail by an Army National Guard helicopter Monday.

According to Kitty Mason, incident commander for McKinley County Search and Rescue, Cynthia Adams, 45, of Corrales and Kathleen Dwor, 52, of Albuquerque, lost their bearings while hiking on the Zuni-Acoma Trail, late Sunday afternoon. As reported in Monday's Independent, the pair was instructed to remain on the trail for the evening, rather than attempt to hike out on the treacherous lava rock in the dark.

"We used the Global Positioning System to determine their longitude and latitude," Mason said. With this information, Mason said it didn't take long for the Army National Guard helicopter to scan the suspected area and find the lost hikers.

"Once we figured out where they were, we decided it would be better to use the helicopter, rather than hike in to get them,"

Mason said. She said the round-trip excursion would have taken four hours. The hikers had expended all of their water and were down to one apple. The helicopter swooped down on the hikers where it hovered and lowered a rescue cable. It took a matter of minutes to lift one woman, then the other woman, who cradled the dog in her arms, to board the chopper. Mason said the trio arrived at the rescue staging area by 8:30 a.m.

"What people don't realize is that the Continental Divide Trail meets up with the Zuni-Acoma Trail," said Mason, explaining how the women had become disoriented. "Apparently, they started on the Zuni-Acoma Trail then diverted to the Continental Divide Trail they're not sure how it happened."

Mason said what made the search much easier was that Adams and Dwor were seasoned hikers who brought matches and appropriate clothing.

"The women are in very good shape, with no medical problems," Mason said. Since they didn't sleep during the night for fear of the fire going out, the pair were tired and hungry, Mason said.

"This is a beautiful area to hike but with many potential dangerous," said Mason of the Zuni-Acoma Trail. There is the challenging lava rock surface as well as few visual referencing landmarks.

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