Milford man trapped under snowmobile saved after 20-hour search

FORT KENT, Maine (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A Milford, Mass. man was rescued on Wednesday after spending nearly 20 hours trapped beneath an overturned snowmobile in Maine.

Officials in Maine tell FOX 25 they received a call at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday from a man named Nelson Gagnon who reported that his friend, 64-year-old Paul Lessard, had not returned from a snowmobile ride.

Gagnon told the Maine Warden Service his friend left a rental camp in Ford Kent Tuesday morning and planned to return to have dinner with him. He contacted the warden service after Lessard did not return or answer his cell phone.

The wardens began checking in with local businesses that Lessard was known to visit. One business, the Fort Kent Arctic Cat dealer, told the wardens Lessard was there at 10 a.m. and had planned to ride near the Deboullie area.

Search teams began going over potential routes of travel in the direction of Deboullie under treacherous conditions that included near zero-degree temperatures. By 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, wardens created a search plan with the assistance of a Warden Service aircraft. Other local residents also assisted in the search.

After nearly 20 hours of searching, Lessard was found trapped beneath his overturned snowmobile in a ditch with running water. The 64-year-old was transported to a nearby hospital after exhibiting signs of hypothermia.

Cox Media Group