Girls rescued from Skinner State Park

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - Four college-age women are safe and sound Sunday morning after a hiking scare at Skinner State Park.

Police say it was no night to be out in the woods below freezing temperatures.

Four girls hiked up the mountain late Saturday afternoon to watch the sunset. On their way back, they got lost.

"We had flashlights and layers of cloths we were ready to go but just got completely lost, so we called for help," said Samantha Simon, one of the rescued UMass students.

They called for help using their cell-phones.

Amherst, Granby, and South Hadley police and fire departments drove up the mountain in ATV's to get them.

Police were able to locate them because of a map they had with them and because of their cell phones which rescuers tracked.

"It allows us to get a position from the GPS tone that comes in and compare that with the grid maps we use, to tell how far away we actually are from where we're located," stated Sgt. Michael Sullivan of the Amherst Police Department.

"We were terrified for an hour, but we didn't panic, we kept our cool pretty well," said sophomore Meg Reid, one of the rescued Umass students.

Sgt. Sullivan says this is the second incident in two weeks so they are warning people to wear layers, bring some food and water when they go hiking.

Police say to also make sure to leave the mountain early, because the sun can set quickly.