CLOVERDALE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A scary situation Sunday as a hiker disappeared at Lieber State Park.
Indiana State Police trooper Kevin Fowler who with the help of conservation officers on scene were able to successfully locate a child and returned them to their family.
ISP public information officer Matt Ames said that proper protocol and communications were the key factors to finding the hiker as soon as they did. He said that both party’s knowledge about the landscape made it so they could section off locations where the hiker could’ve been.
Ames calls moments like these one of the best parts of the job.
“When you can take those two parties and put them together and you can see the hugs and smiles on their faces, that is what is good. It makes you feel like you have really accomplished something for that day, and it always brings a good ending to a good story,” he said.
After an incident like this, Ames also wanted to share some tips if people do find themselves in a similar situation.
“If you do get lost, don’t panic,” he said. “Number one, the cavalry is going to be looking for you, but number two don’t continue to go where you don’t know where you are going, turn around and try to retrace the tracks that you came from so that you may see a large tree or obstacle that you can remember so you can see that you are going in the right direction that you came from originally.”
Ames said that more details about this incident will be released at a later date.
