Ontario girls missing from campground found in good health

CTV Ottawa: Girls lost overnight in woods Family thankful cousins found safe after spending harrowing night in the woods southwest of Renfrew. CTV'S Claudia Cautillo reports.

Two girls who went missing during a game of hide and seek in eastern Ontario have been located in good health after spending the night in the woods.

A canine unit, emergency response team, and OPP helicopter had joined in the search for the girls, who are 9 and 11, after they went missing Monday night from a campground on Airds Lake Road in Greater Madawaska.

The girls, who are cousins, had been playing with other children at a family cottage but they never returned. A group of adults set out to look for the pair.

Family friend Jenell Rosenblath said friends and family members searched using four-wheelers and flashlights.

“We would call and call and call and got no response,” Rosenblath told CTV Ottawa.

With still no sign of the girls, family called the OPP.

More than 12 hours later, a member of the emergency response team who was searching on foot found the girls a kilometre-and-a-half into the bush.

The girls were checked out by paramedics Tuesday afternoon, but appeared to be in good health.

Family member Dan Ripley said everyone is breathing a sigh of relief now that the girls are safe.

“I’ve been back in the bush and I know how easy it is to get turned around, so I’m just very grateful that the police were able to do their job,” Ripley said.

The names of the girls and the family have not been released, but Const. Janice Sawbridge said one girl is from Barrie, Ont. and the other is from near Kingston, Ont.

With files from CTV Ottawa's Claudia Cautillo