Cell Phone Helps Locate Lost Woman, 76

A 76-year-old woman's cell phone aided officials when she became lost Tuesday night in Warren's Glenhurst Meadows, off Mountain Avenue.

Nancy Irwin, of Norwood, ventured into the trail at about 8 p.m., but became lost in the miles of trail as dusk settled in.

When Irwin fell, she began yelling for help, which prompted area residents to call police. Help from the township's volunteer fire and rescue squad was on the way, but locating the victim in the descending darkness was a duanting task.

The 100-acre include several miles of trails along the Passaic River and Cory's Brook, and an adjoining tract of land that had been a golf course before it was abandoned because of continuous flooding from the river. 

Fortunately, modern technology provided a solution.

"Police dispatch was able to contact her on her cell phone and was able to successfully pinpoint her location via the GPS coordinates from her phone," Warren Township Police Capt. Robert Glen said. "She was located within minutes of finding the GPS coordinates."

With the coordinates, it took the rescuers about 20 minutes to get to her and carry her out of the area.

Irwin was taken to Overlook Hospital for evaluation and treatment. Glen reported she was not injured beyond several insect bites that occurred while she was in the woods.