Hike turns into overnight stay for family

DERRY, Pa. - A family that got lost on a hike spent the night in western Pennsylvania's heavily wooded state game lands and walked out unharmed Friday morning, just as crews were preparing to resume their search.The father, Tom Perry, said he will never hike again without his GPS unit and other safety gear.Perry; his wife, Kathy; and their 5-year-old twin daughters, Tara and Leah, were hiking in the state game lands near Derry, about 45 miles east of Pittsburgh, when they became lost Thursday evening.The family, from nearby Derry Township, called authorities for help on a cell phone. After several conversations with police, the phone's battery ran out. Searchers traced the signal to a general area, but were unable to find the family in the nighttime search.Perry and his wife put the girls down to sleep and waited for daybreak. The family heard a state police helicopter overhead, and heard police sirens and the barks of search dogs."It was frustrating. I felt like Gilligan on the island," Perry told The Bulletin of Latrobe.Search crews took a three-hour break and were about to resume looking when the family walked out of the woods before 8 a.m. Friday.The family has hiked in the area before, but this time they went about 300 yards than they had previously and discovered a waterfall. They became lost on their way back."I'm a gadget guy, but all of it was in the vehicle," Perry said, referring to his GPS unit, flares and lighters.Derry Borough police Chief Randy Glick said the family was fortunate to come out unharmed."Everything looks the same up there," Glick said. "You go in and use a big rock for a landmark and when you come around it might not be the same big rock."