9-year-old leads rescuers by phone to 3 kids lost on mountain, NY firefighters say

A 9-year-old helped an emergency dispatcher guide rescuers to himself and two other children lost on a mountain near Bleecker, New York, firefighters reported.

The children had wandered away from a campsite earlier Sunday, July 10, the Caroga Lake Volunteer Fire Company said in a news release.

Firefighters began searching for the kids — ages 9, 9 and 6 — just after 5 p.m., the release said.

A Fulton County dispatcher “kept the 9 year old on the line and plotted their exact location and kept the rescue team continuously advised of the children’s status,” firefighters said.

A rescue team on an ATV found the children shortly after 5:30 p.m. on top of a mountain about a half-mile from the nearest road, the release said.

The children had some cuts and bruises but were not seriously hurt, firefighters said. They received a medical checkup and were reunited with their parents.

The release praised 911 dispatchers and several agencies involved in the rescue for a “very timely positive outcome.”

A comment on the post by a man who described himself as the great-grandfather of one of the 9-year-olds also praised rescuers.

“She was taught to stay still and wait for help, and she was the one who had a cell phone and stayed on line .. I am so proud of her and Thank our Lord for guiding all those who found and returned all these children home safe and sound,” the post reads.

Bleecker is a town of about 500 people northwest of Albany.