BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 5, 2024
Maine Wardens receive on the average of 500 missing person calls a year. When a hunter or a dementia patient is reported missing, the search and rescue team swings into action. Concerned relatives or friends of a missing person should not hesitate to make that call. If in doubt, call. With today’s cellphones more outdoor people, especially hikers, are given a false sense of confidence and assume that if they get in trouble, help is a click away. New Hampshire, particularly, has experienced hikers who have had to be rescued in the White Mountains after getting into trouble. New Hampshire, as well as Maine, has a law that allows the state to send a bill to an irresponsible hiker for the cost of search efforts rendered. New Hampshire in a few instances has invoked the law. Maine, to date, has not. ~ V. Paul Reynolds