Two men were rescued from a bog after they went hiking in Maine on Dec. 30, 2023.Photo:MAINE DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES & WILDLIFE
MAINE DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES & WILDLIFE
A group of missing hikers who got lost in a bog and spent the night in the woods in Maine were rescued over the weekend after one of them made a shoeless trek to find help.
As a result, the three hikers had to spend the night outside.
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Why that person went shoeless is not known to officials, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokesperson Mark Latti toldBackpacker. However, the official went on to note that the decision “could certainly be a symptom ofhypothermia.”
“Obviously you don’t reason very well once hypothermia starts to set in and sometimes it goes along with that panic when you realize you’re lost and you might not get help,” Latti added.
Two men were rescued from a bog after they went hiking in Maine on Dec. 30, 2023.MAINE DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES & WILDLIFE
After the third hiker alerted authorities, the K-9 units from Maine Warden Service and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 units searched a bog in the area, per the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife news release.
Around Sunday afternoon, a K-9 picked up a scent, leading authorities to find Caroto and Gain, who were described as “severely hypothermic and unable to walk.”
The department noted that the game wardens started a fire to warm up the hikers and and offered them food and drink. Because the stranded hikers were unable to walk, responders had to carry them out of the woods via a stretcher.
The temperature was in the low 30s in the area where the hikers were found, although there was no snow on the ground, which Latti said “can be a bad thing.”
“Once someone gets wet and they’re not wearing the proper clothing, hypothermia can set in that much quicker," the official told Backpacker.
The rescued hikers were taken to a hospital and are expected to make a full recovery, the department said.
source: people.com
