2 Missionaries Lost in Martinique

by The Associated Press

American and British missionaries who got lost during a hike in Martinique were found, hungry but unharmed, on the slopes of a volcanic peak on Thursday, authorities said.

Tyson Gray, 19, of Taylorsville, Utah, and Thomas Swain, 21, a British citizen from New Zealand, were weak from lack of food but otherwise healthy and were not sent to a hospital, Martinique Police Cmdr. Jean Michel Robinet said.

The two men, who set out to hike Mount Pelee on Monday, told police they had heard helicopters overhead but could not find a clearing to signal to them, Robinet said. They were found on the mountain by farmers who notified police.

Authorities had searched the dense vegetation surrounding the mountain since the two missionaries were reported missing late Monday.

The missionaries became disoriented in dense foliage and difficult terrain, according to a press release from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. Gray had been on a West Indies mission for six months and Swain for 18 months, the statement said.

Mount Pelee, which rises nearly 4,600 feet, is a popular tourist attraction. The volcano, which is still active, erupted in 1902, killing tens of thousands of people. The most recent serious eruption was in 1932.