TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — What started as a peaceful family hike quickly turned into a high-stakes search and rescue in the woods of Lake Talquin State Forest.
- A family hiking in Lake Talquin State Forest got lost.
- LCSO deputies and various units, including helicopters and drones, conducted the search.
- Watch the video below to find out how much the rescue may have cost taxpayers.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A weekend hike gone wrong put local deputies to the test. I’m Lentheus Chaney in Southwest Tallahassee, taking a look at how LCSO used time, people, and tools to locate a missing family in Lake Talquin State Forest.
A family outing took a dangerous turn on June 21, when two children, their mother, and grandmother became separated while hiking in Lake Talquin State Forest. They had only a 911-enabled cell phone—and no map or supplies.
The first call for help came at 4:48 p.m. from the children’s father. He reported his family was lost somewhere along the Fort Braden Trailhead. The trail spans nearly 10 miles of thick forest, steep ridges, and poor cell coverage—just 25 minutes from Tallahassee, but difficult to navigate without preparation.
According to an incident report summary, Forest Deputy Timothy Roche located the mother and one child within the hour. But the search continued for hours before deputies finally found the 9-year-old boy and his grandmother—alive, but shaken.
Chief Ron O’Brien says calls like these can demand significant manpower, coordination and taxpayer dollars.
“It costs several hundred dollars an hour to fly a helicopter, and then of course, you know the gas for the other vehicles, the salaries. If you totaled it up, I would say it could run in the tens of thousands of dollars pretty quickly,” O’Brien said.
Officials say if you ever become lost in the forest:
- Stay in one place
- Try to call or text 911
- Conserve your phone battery
- Drop a location pin if possible
- And never hike without water, a map, or a fully charged device
Chief O’Brien says a helicopter, drones, the fire department, and forestry units all worked together to find the family. In southwest Tallahassee, I’m Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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