2 hikers found safe in Glacier Nat'l Park

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WEST GLACIER, Mont., Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Two 32-year-old hikers missing in snowy conditions in Glacier National Park in Montana were found safe Monday, one of their wives said.

Deborah Peckens told WRC-TV, Washington, D.C., by phone in Montana that her husband Neal Peckens of Virginia and his hiking partner, Jason Hiser of Maryland, had been located and appeared to be "fine."

She said the men were to be flown out of the park by helicopter Monday night.

The two men had been reported missing by family members Friday. The National Park Service said in a release posted on its website Sunday that searchers had found tracks and a recently used fire ring in the Nyack Drainage, on the west side of the Continental Divide, that may have been used by the missing hikers.

The men, who had set out Tuesday, were believed to have been hiking on the east side of the park near Two Medicine. They failed to make their way back to their vehicle for a flight back home to the East Coast.

About 50 searchers Sunday were hampered by up to 18 inches of snow on trails, compounded by drifts, poor visibility and high winds, the park service said.

The conditions also had limited the use of aircraft in the search.