Hikers OK after staying extra night in woods

TOWNSHIP 7 RANGE 10 – Two hikers from New Hampshire emerged from the woods Sunday evening a day late but none the worse for wear, a Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher said.

The hikers, a 58-year-old man and his 24-year old son, whose names were not available Sunday, departed Friday for what they believed would be an overnight trip. The two miscalculated the amount of time their trek would require and spent an extra night in the woods, dispatcher Mike Curtis said.

The two were scheduled to meet an immediate family member Saturday at a parking lot near the west branch of Pleasant River, Curtis said. When the hikers had not arrived by 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the relative reported them missing and personnel from the Maine Warden Service began a search of the area.

Shortly after the search began, the two arrived at the parking lot uninjured.

Participating in the search were Wardens Dan Carroll and Mike Favreau, Sgt. Pat Dorian and Warden Pilot Otis Gray.