Hepplewhitefield Estate

Incident Type: Rescue

In the early hours of Thursday morning, our volunteers were called out alongside North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team at the request of Northumbria Police to assist with two young people who had become lost in the Simonside Hills.

Initial information indicated that the pair had become disorientated whilst out walking. A family member had attempted to reach them by car but became stranded on a rough estate track, adding to the complexity of the incident. With only limited information available initially, our Duty Controllers worked with Northumbria Police to establish an accurate location before volunteers were deployed.

Using the location information provided, mountain rescue volunteers and police officers made their way onto the hill. After a coordinated search in challenging terrain, the two walkers were safely located approximately an hour into the incident.

Thankfully, both were uninjured, although they were cold after spending time on the hillside. Team members provided warm jackets before escorting them out of the difficult ground and back to the estate track, where they were reunited with their family member. Northumbria Police then transported the group back to their accommodation.

The incident involved 6 Team members for 2 hours 15 minutes.