DUNMORE, Pa. — A former federal judge is recovering after being rescued from a wooded area in Pennsylvania Thursday evening, thanks to two teenage good Samaritans.
Judge Edwin Kosik, 92, was missing for almost two days when Joe Delvecchio, 18, and Alec Yanisko, 15, spotted his car in the woods in Dunmore, a borough in Lackawanna County.
The Dunmore Reservoir is a popular place for hiking. A road near the reservoir leads to woods and a network of ATV trails. The two Dunmore High School students were out riding an ATV near the Dunmore reservoir nature trail off Tigue Street when they noticed something strange.
The young men told WNEP it's not a place where they regularly see cars, so they knew something was off when they found an SUV about a quarter mile from the nearest road, stuck on a log with two smashed windows. The boys reached inside and found a Sam's Club card with the name Edwin Kosik on it.
"We went to type it in online to see if we knew them or anything like that and we seen all the attention it had," said Joe Delvecchio. They went home, talked to their parents first, and then called police. They led officers to the secluded spot in the woods.
Police found Judge Kosik not far from his SUV lying on the ground.
The boys did not see Judge Kosik's rescue but they told WNEP that when he is fully recovered, they hope to meet him. "We're glad he's OK, glad that we could help out," Delvecchio said.
Hospital officials say the judge is in fair condition after likely spending two days lost in the woods after he went missing Tuesday night. He is being treated at a local hospital.
"We're very thankful to these two young men that they saw this vehicle, happened to be in this area, fortunately," said U.S. Marshal Martin Pane.
Despite his age, Judge Kosik was still trying cases until a few months ago. He stopped due to health concerns.
