PISCATAQUIS COUNTY, Maine — A 70-year-old hunter was found by the Maine Warden Service Thursday morning after he had gotten lost the previous day and spent the night in the woods.
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (MDIFW), Maurice Pelletier, 70, of Caribou had gone bird hunting alone on Wednesday in northern Piscataquis County.
Pelletier reportedly got out of his Jeep to shoot a grouse when he saw a second grouse flying into the woods. He followed it into the woods, shot it, but became disoriented in the thick woods and was unable to find his way back to his car.
He spent the night in the woods and built a fire to keep warm. The next morning, hunters found Pelletier's car with the door open and the engine still running, and called the Maine Warden Service.
MDIFW says Game Warden Preston Pomerleau and his K9 Gordon quickly found signs of Pelletier, including the remnants of a fire, fresh-cut fir boughs, and food. Ten game wardens intensified their search in that area and called in a Warden Service pilot to help search the area.
Pelletier, once hearing the plane circling overhead, found an opening in the forest and was building a signal fire when Warden Pilot Jeff Spencer located him and directed game wardens to his location.
Wardens found Pelletier in good health and assisted him out of the woods to his car. The MDIFW says he did not need medical attention.
“If you are headed out hunting this season, please let someone know where you are going to hunt and when you plan to be back. Also, be prepared to spend a night in the woods in case you get turned around,” Maine Warden Service Lieutenant Tom Ward said. “If Mr. Pelletier was not as prepared as he was, this could have had a much worse outcome.”
