A Montreal teen who went missing while hiking with a camp in Vermont has been escorted out of the woods safely after spending 24 hours on his own.
Shmuel Rabinowitz, 15, was separated from a group of campers while hiking on a trail in Killington on Wednesday night.
According to Hatzoloh Montreal, a volunteer emergency medical services group aiding in the search efforts, the boy reached out using a passerby hiker's cell phone.
Vermont State Police said the boy encountered other hikers in the area and used their phone to make contact with relatives.
Police said on Thursday evening that he was located and escorted out of the woods uninjured.
Shmuel was on an overnight hike about an hour away from Pioneers Camp, a Jewish Orthodox camp. Officials say the campers are a mix of kids from Montreal and New York. He was with a large group near Cooper Lodge, and was last seen at about 7:30 p.m. when he went missing.
Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the area, led by the Vermont State Police in coordination with first-responder agencies, including New England K-9 Search and Rescue and the Vermont National Guard, and Chaverim of Rockland County and Montreal.
Many volunteers from Montreal, including two trucks from Hatzoloh, went to assist in the search efforts.
The boy's mother also headed down to Killington, according to a source familiar with the situation.
In a note sent to parents, camp director Michoel Nagel said, 'part of preparing for any activity involves emergency preparation and training which this group participated in before starting this overnight hike.'
