Hiker found in Sloatsburg after going missing in Ringwood State Park in New Jersey

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Missing hiker found in NJ
Josh Einiger has the latest developments.

RINGWOOD, New Jersey (WABC) -- A missing hiker at Ringwood State Park in New Jersey was located safely Monday afternoon.

Carol Heimbach, 63, survived an entire day and night lost in the woods along the New York/New Jersey border, going more than 24 hours missing.

Authorities believe Heimbach, from Wayne, New Jersey, entered the park for a hike near Skylands Manor on Sunday around 12:30 p.m.

The New Jersey State Park Police said the woman's family first reached out to authorities after Heimbach didn't return home for dinner, which initiated the search.

They say Heimbach's vehicle was located in Parking Lot B of the state park just before 11 p.m., and a massive multi-agency search and rescue operation, using canines and aviation units, began a few hours later and continued overnight.

Authorities say they started receiving tips regarding the missing hiker around 9 a.m. Monday morning, after the Ringwood Police Department posted information on their Facebook page about the disappearance.

They say a homeowner's Ring camera footage positively identified Heimbach.

"At 1 p.m. we received probably the most credible tip that we could expect, and it was based off a Ring cam in Scottsburg New York," said George Fedorczyk of New Jersey State Park Police.

She was located safely around 1:30 p.m. in Sloatsburg, New York, and was then taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern.

Police say she was in good shape and suffered no apparent injuries but was "disoriented."

She has since been reunited with family.

Her husband told Eyewitness News he's grateful to police for keeping up the search.

Police say it's not yet clear the circumstances that led the woman to go missing.

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