07/07/2025
๐จ INCIDENT REPORT & IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING THE HATFIELD MCCOY TRAIL SYSTEM ๐จ
On Saturday, July 5th, 2025, Station 200 members were alerted by Mingo County 911 to alarm 25-05825 requesting units to respond for a Trail Rescue with reports of a group of Lost Riders in the area of Pie, WV at 22:19 hours.
Station 200 responded with ATV 206, staffed with 3 firefighters, and ATV 207, staffed with 2 firefighters, at 22:21 hours. An additional 9 members responded to the scene via POV.
While enroute, Mingo 911 alerted the responding units that they were able to ping the victim's cell phone location and advised the coordinates pointed to an area off old US-52 in the area of the Trans-Canada Gas distribution center. Responding members advised Mingo 911 that they were familiar with this location as they had responded to similar incidents in the past. Responding units advised that a command post would be set up at the Devil Anse ATV resort as that was the closest point of entry to the incident.
Station 200 arrived on scene at the command post and advised that they were sending 4 members via POV to search a remote trail which was NOT part of the Hatfield McCoy Trail System. The rest of response team searched the nearby trails to ensure no areas were unaccounted for, with ATV 206 and 207 standing by at the command post to respond if injuries or an accident was confirmed.
Lieutenant 247, along with 3 firefighters (229, 245, and 246) in his personal ATV traversed the remote trail off of Devil Anse Trail 52, which was VERY rugged, washed out, hilly, and overgrown; and was able to locate the missing party approximately 2 miles off the Hatfield McCoy Trail System at 23:09 hours. The lost riders were found to be un-injured with their machines fully intact. These units then guided the riders out of the hills to the command post where they could re-gain their bearings.
Everyone exited the trails un-injured at 00:09 hours, when command was terminated and all station 200 members cleared the scene and returned to service.
๐จ IMPORTANT MESSAGE: ๐จ
The picture shows the trail the lost party was located on. This trail is NOT part of the Hatfield McCoy Trail System and should not be traveled by trail riders. The trail is a dead end trail overlooking Trans-Canada Gas and the Hillbilly Heaven Campground. This trail is VERY EASILY mistaken as it is at the end of a clearing and is not well-marked as a DO NOT ENTER TRAIL. We have had incidents on this trail where the individuals attempted this trail and have wrecked and fallen upwards of 400 feet over a cliff. Please ensure that you stick to the marked trails to ensure the safest ride possible.
