Hunter from North Carolina vanishes in Michigan forest. He was stuck in mud, agency says

A North Carolina man on a hunting trip in the Michigan wilderness went missing, prompting a large search that involved multiple agencies and a helicopter.

He was found hours later — stuck in mud and in need of rescue, officials say.

The 75-year-old from Candler, a small community near Asheville, was hunting with friends and family near the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore — the same spot he had hunted for the past two decades — when he vanished Sunday, officials say.

Due to poor weather conditions, the group had decided against hunting that day and everyone gathered at a cabin, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said in a news release Monday. By afternoon, the group realized the man hadn’t been seen since he walked away that morning.

The group searched his favorite hunting spots and then reported his disappearance to authorities when they did not find him, officials said.

With rain, colder temperatures and darkness closing in, the Department of Natural Resources asked for help from the U.S. Coast Guard, which sent a helicopter pilot to search. The man also had a history of health problems.

“The terrain was very difficult, thick and damp – not even navigable,” Conservation Officer Amanda McCurdy said in the news release.

Shortly before 9 p.m., the helicopter crew spotted a light in the woods. A K-9 unit then went to the area and found the man stuck in mud and shining a flashlight at the helicopter.

The hunter did not need to be hospitalized, officials say.

“It was a team effort,” McCurdy say. “Everyone had an important role to play to ensure this hunter didn’t spend a cold, wet and lonely night in the woods.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Hunter from North Carolina vanishes in Michigan forest. He was stuck in mud, agency says."