A 79-year-old hunter has been rescued after being trapped for 33 hours in mud and water up to his neck, where he became stuck after wading into a swamp to retrieve a duck that he had shot in Haverhill.
The man, Alexander Samor of Lebanon, headed out at 4 a.m. on Tuesday for the opening day of waterfowl season, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game. His family reported him missing the following morning but they didn’t know where he had gone hunting except that it was probably along the Connecticut River.
Fortunately, a conservation officer “recalled seeing (Lamor’s) vehicle at Beddell Bridge boat launch in Hanover,” officials said in a press release.
Conservation officials from New Hampshire and Vermont searched for Lamor along the river and in a swampy area near the boat launch, where he was found shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
He was “stuck in the mud and submerged up to his neck in the wooded swamp about a half a mile from the boat launch,” the press release said. “Samor reported that he had entered the swamp in chest waders to retrieve a duck he had shot about 7 a.m. Wednesday. He became hopelessly stuck and the more he struggled the more he sunk into the mud.”
Samor was extricated, suffering from hypothermia and exhaustion, partly because he had suffered through a night of heavy rain. He was taken to Cottage Hospital in Haverhill for evaluation.
The big lesson from the incident, said Fish and Game, is that “all hunters and outdoor enthusiasts” should “leave an itinerary with friends or family” in case problems arise.
(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313, dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.)
