MISSION PEAK REGIONAL PRESERVE -- Searchers found a lost female hiker Wednesday evening who fortunately brought her cell phone and was able communicate with dispatchers in the large Fremont hiking area, police said.

The hiker called East Bay Regional Park District police at 6:20 p.m. after night fell and she could not make her way out of the nearly 3,000-acre Mission Peak Regional Preserve, said Lt. Jon King. Almost two hours later, searchers found the woman, who was cold due to the low temperatures but otherwise unhurt, a dispatcher said.

Police were able to communicate with the woman via her cell phone and also track her using GPS locators, King said.

"It sometimes happens this time of the year," King said. "It's nice weather and it gets dark early, and people try to get a hike in. ... It's a good reminder for people to budget their time and that when it gets dark in a park, it gets really dark."

In addition, hikers should always bring a cell phone and check for service before starting the hike, he said.