Maine game wardens and a group of warden trainees rescued a couple and two children on Tuesday who became separated and stranded on Moosehead Lake during the snowstorm.
Ruby Goodmen, 31, of Greenville, and Joseph Wentworth, 32, of Orland, and two children ages 5 and 2, were ice fishing when the weather began to worsen, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokesman Mark Latti said in a statement.
Maine Game Warden Matthew Tenan helps a 2-year-old boy get off a snowmobile Tuesday night during a rescue on Moosehead Lake in Greenville. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife photo
Goodmen decided to head home with the 5-year-old and their dog while Wentworth stayed behind with the 2-year-old to collect their fishing gear.
Goodmen left on her snowmobile, but it broke down before she could reach shore. The storm intensified and Goodmen could not see where she was in what had become whiteout conditions, according to Latti. Goodmen and Wentworth each called 911 to report they were stranded on the lake.
Members of the Maine Advanced Warden School, which includes state and Passamaquoddy game warden trainees, had been training in the Moosehead Lake area earlier in the day and had returned to a camp on the west side the lake where they planned to spend the night. At 9:15 p.m., they received an emergency request to assist the family.
Working with the Bangor Regional Communications Center, the wardens and trainees zeroed in on the locations of the two groups by tracking their GPS coordinates through the 911 calls. Goodmen was about 800 yards from shore, and Wentworth was two miles away from her.
Game wardens Joshua Polland and Chad Robertson split the wardens and trainees into two teams, which searched for Goodmen and Wentworth. Latti said the rescue teams located and transported everyone back to shore in about 45 minutes. Both children were wet and shivering and had to be wrapped in blankets.
The family returned to the camp, where they warmed up. The camp’s owner provided the family with a vehicle to return home safely.
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