BREAKING: Missing hikers located in Cohutta Wilderness

CISCO, Ga. – Seven missing hikers, including four children, have been located in the Cohutta Wilderness after a joint rescue effort of the West Polk (Tennessee) Volunteer Fire and Rescue (WPVFR) and rescues teams from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR), Murray County, Georgia, and Bradley County, Tennessee, according to West Polk Fire Chief Keith Jeske.

According to reports, the hikers were reported missing Sunday evening, April 29, in the vicinity of Jacks River Falls. Jeske could not verify what trail or access point to the falls area the group had taken.

Jeske reported the conditions of the hikers were unknown and rescue teams were still in the process of extracting the hikers from the wilderness area as of 11:30 a.m. Monday morning. Updates from the WPVFR Facebook page say a GDNR helicopter spotted the group on the Rice Camp Trail, a popular foot trail used to access the Jacks River Falls area.

The 37,000-acre Cohutta Wilderness, which includes the falls area, is situated mostly on the southern side of the Tennessee/Georgia state line, and a number of access trails originate in both states leading into the wilderness area.

Please continue to follow FetchYourNews as details emerge on this rescue.