A group of missing hikers who got lost in a swamp and spent the night in the woods in Maine were rescued over the weekend after one of them went without shoes to find help.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said in a press release obtained by PEOPLE that Joseph Caroto, 48, Stacey Gain, 55, and another friend, who has not been identified, were on a hike from Mills Street in Steep Falls ” when they turned around they couldn’t find their way back.”
Because of this, the three hikers had to spend the night outside.
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Authorities said a third person in the group was hiking Sunday morning and “walked up to the house, wearing shoes and freezing, and told the homeowner that his friends were still lost in the woods and were not doing well.”
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Why the person lost his shoes is unknown to officials, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokesman Mark Latti told Backpacker. However, the official went on to note that the decision “could certainly be a symptom of hypothermia.”
“Obviously you’re not thinking straight when hypothermia starts to set in, and sometimes that 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 swamp after they went hiking in Maine on December 30, 2023.
MAINE DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE
After a third hiker notified authorities, K-9 units from the Maine Warden’s Service and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office K-9 units searched the marsh in the area, according to a news release from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
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Around Sunday afternoon, a K-9 picked up the scent, which led authorities to find Carot and Gain, who were described as “severely hypothermic and unable to walk.”
The Institute noted that the gamekeepers lit a fire to warm the mountaineers and offered them food and drink. Since the stuck mountaineers could not walk, rescuers had to carry them out of the forest on stretchers.
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The temperature was below 30 degrees in the area where the hikers were found, although there was no snow on the ground, which Latti says “can be a bad thing.”
“When someone gets wet and isn’t wearing the proper clothing, hypothermia can set in much faster,” the official told Backpacker.
The rescued hikers were taken to hospital and are expected to make a full recovery, the department said.
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