Three physics graduate students were rescued in the New Hampshire wilderness this weekend.
Mingming Jiang GS, Xu Liu GS and Xu Luo GS were separated from their hiking group Sunday as they traversed the trails around Mount Lafayette in New Hampshire's White Mountains, said Kevin Jordan, the Fish and Game Department's assistant chief of law enforcement.
The three hikers diverged from their group in the Franconia Notch area of the loop trail system, Jordan said, where the terrain is particularly rugged. Though there are signs along the paths, they are not at every trail intersection, he said.
Jordan said he did not know if the rest of the group with which Jiang, Liu and Luo were hiking included other Brown students.
One of the men used Google Earth to pull up a map, which they then used to "bushwhack" to another trail in an attempt to reposition themselves, Jordan said.
But the men were unable to find a trail. Late Sunday night, they managed to call 911 "several times," Jordan said.
The search party found the students around 2 a.m. Monday in good health, Jordan said.
The department may bill the students for the rescue, Jordan said. New Hampshire law allows for public safety officials to charge liability costs in the event that a person acted recklessly in the events leading up to the rescue.
But this expense is considered in all rescue cases, Jordan said. It is too soon to tell if this will happen with the three students, he added.
The men had no flashlights, maps or other equipment with them during their hike, Jordan said.
