By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-12 05:52:55 | Updated at 2026-06-12 14:34:13
8 hours ago
A school field trip got out of control when dozens of schoolgirls snuck off and wandered into a tunnel, only to finally escape through a drain and emerge on the patio of an upstate New York restaurant.
About 70 girls in the eighth and ninth grades were on a school trip to Memorial Park in Nyack, a village in Rockland County, when the chaos occurred.
Mayor Joseph Rand said that the teens were from a private school in Ramapo and did not have a permit for a trip to the park.
The girls decided to explore a culvert and trekked underground. Some of the students walked over a half mile underground. Rand later clarified that not all 70 girls went into the culvert.
'At some point, they got lost, confused, scared, or some combination, and they tried to get out. People heard them and called 911,' Rand said in a social media post.
'First responders immediately came to the scene and located all the girls at various points in Nyack.'
The mayor said that all the girls came out on their own, and everyone was accounted for. No one was injured, barring a few cuts and scrapes.
Many of the girls escaped through a drain at Hudson House restaurant, shocking the establishment's owner, Matt Hudson.
Dozens of school girls ventured into the Nyack Creek tunnel at Memorial Park during an unauthorized school trip
Many of the girls were found about half a mile away from the park at the Hudson House restaurant. They exited through a drain onto the restaurant's patio
The mayor of the upstate New York town said that although no one was injured, it served as a reminder for visitors not to venture into the culvert
'I was in the office when I heard kids chattering,' he told CBS News. 'I was like, where is that coming from?'
'Sure enough, we came back here into the patio, looked here, and it was filling up with kids,' Hudson continued.
'They were fine, but they were excitedly talking. They were happy to be getting out of here.'
Hudson said all the girls were safe and that he was grateful to the first responders for their assistance.
However, he noted that it was dangerous for the girls to be exploring the underground tunnels, adding that if it rained, it would have made it difficult for them to escape.
Restaurant owner Matt Hudson and Mayor Joseph Rand warned that venturing into the tunnels could be dangerous
Local news footage showed first responders escorting some of the schoolgirls on a sidewalk outside the restaurant
'We've been here almost 36 years. We thought we saw it all, but no, no, there are still some surprises here,' Hudson confessed.
Video footage of the scene, taken by News 12, showed dozens of schoolgirls in long dresses walking along a sidewalk, with police near the restaurant.
Rand said that he was grateful to the multiple police and fire departments that responded to escort the students.
The mayor added that the situation served as a reminder - 'please don’t go into the culvert at Memorial Park.'
