By Gillian Graham
Portland Press Herald
ETNA, Maine — A 74-year-old Etna man was found by a game warden after spending nearly 30 hours lost in the woods.
Joseph Nolin was hypothermic and dehydrated when he was found Monday afternoon by Game Warden Michael Latti and K9 Luna deep in the woods at the edge of the Etna Bog, according to the Maine Warden Service. Nolin was about a mile from his house and had spent the night outdoors in temperatures that dipped below freezing.
Latti was searching the bog with Luna when the dog signaled she was on to something through a change in behavior. As she took off on a scent, Latti heard a yell. Luna stopped about 200 yards away and barked to signal that she had located Nolin.
https://www.facebook.com/mefishwildlife/videos/5536961429721265/
Nolin’s son later told game wardens that his father heard the bell attached to Luna’s collar, then a black lab suddenly appeared and started to lick him. That’s when he knew he was saved, his son told the game wardens.
Nolin was unable to move, but was alert and talking when Latti reached him. He told the game warden that he got turned around in the woods and became lost, then walked until he couldn’t move anymore. Nolin said he wouldn’t have survived another night in the woods, according to the warden service.
Pilot Chris Blackie of the Maine Forest Service landed a helicopter on the floating bog near Nolin so he could be flown to an ambulance. Nolin was examined by emergency service personnel and released after he was rehydrated and warmed up.
Nolin had last been seen the previous morning when he left his son’s house on Dunham Road in Etna to go check game cameras in the woods behind the house. When he didn’t return by 7 p.m., his son reported him missing.
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