Mushroom-tripping hikers mistakenly report a companion’s death, officials say

NORTH ELBA, N.Y. — Two hikers in New York’s Adirondack Mountains called 911 to report a third member of their party had died, but it turned out they had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms and were mistaken, officials said Wednesday.

A state forest ranger responded to a call Saturday about a hiker who had reportedly died on Cascade Mountain, a popular summit in the Adirondack High Peaks, the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release.

The two hikers who called 911 also told a steward on the mountain’s summit that they were lost. The steward “determined the hikers were in an altered mental state,” according to the agency.

The supposedly dead person called and was not injured.

The ranger escorted the two hikers down to an ambulance, which took them to a hospital, and brought the third to the group’s campsite, where they all later met up, officials said.