BROWNVILLE, Maine — Two 14-year-old Bangor girls who were separated from their group Thursday while hiking the Rim Trail at Gulf Hagas were found safe Friday, Corp. John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service said in a news release.
“The girls were a little cold but otherwise in good health,” MacDonald said.
The names of the teens were not released.
“The girls were hiking the Gulf Hagas region as part of a school leadership program with Camp Jordan, located in Ellsworth,” MacDonald said. “When the girls arrived back from their day’s hike at 6:30 p.m., 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.”
Gulf Hagas is a gorge, sometimes called the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” that is part of the 100-Mile Wilderness near Mount Katahdin. The trail to get to the site, which includes a number of waterfalls, crosses the Appalachian Trail at one point.
Seven Maine game wardens out of Greenville responded at 10 p.m. and began to hike sections of the trail. The teens were found at about 1:15 a.m.
“The girls were located 1.5 miles from the trailhead near the Cutover Trail,” MacDonald said. “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.”