Two female hikers were safely rescued before dawn on Sunday, Jan. 6, after spending more than 12 hours lost at the top of Nesmith Point in the Columbia River Gorge.
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue began ascending the trail just before 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5 when Portland hikers Elizabeth Flanagan, 36, and Sue Giordano, 44, reported being stranded along the snowy trail, roughly 3,800 feet in elevation.
One of the hikers called her husband after the two women lost their tracks under the snow of the Yeon State Park trail.
Authorities remained in contact with the intermediate hikers via cell phone until search and rescue workers were able to locate the women and escort them down the mountain by 3:45 a.m.