Long Island

Dad, 3 Young Sons Saved After Scare in Long Island Woods

The father took his 8-, 10- and 13-year-old sons for a bike ride on a trail Sunday evening -- but he couldn't get a signal to find his way back. Then his phone battery died.

Suffolk County police car
NBC New York

A father and his three young sons who got lost in a Long Island park after they couldn't get a signal to track their parked car, then lost cellphone use entirely, were rescued by Suffolk Police after more than two hours Sunday night, authorities say.

The West Babylon man took his 8-, 10- and 13-year-old boys to Manorville Hills County Park, a tree-encompassed, 7.7-mile loop trail in the Pine Barrens, for a bicycle ride around 6:30 p.m. They left their vehicle parked at the County Road 111 entrance and headed off to ride a trail, police say.

After about 90 minutes, just before 8 p.m., cops say the dad tried to use the GPS locator on his phone to find the car. He couldn't get a connection.

He was able to call 911 a little more than an hour later, around 9:15 p.m. Then the phone battery died.

Officers conducted a coordinated search of the park with the assistance of aviation and parks police teams and found the family just before 10:20 p.m.

The dad and his kids weren't hurt. They were taken back to their vehicle, authorities said.

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