Wardens Rescue 2 Men Whose Kayaks Capsized Tuesday Night
Two men who went kayaking during this week's rain and wind storm had to be rescued when their kayaks capsized.
Two Monticello residents, 33-year-old Josh Ford and 24-year-old Alec Dalton, decided to take a kayaking trip during a rainstorm Tuesday afternoon on the Medusnekeag River. They headed out at around 2 p.m., and paddled for about 30 minutes before encountering swollen rapids and downed trees. The kayaks flipped over in the rushing water, and both men were thrown out. They were able to swim to safety, but ended up on opposite sides of the river, with one of the men about 1/4 mile downriver from the other.
Ford found shelter in a camp and called 911. Game Wardens traveled through flooded and washed out roads during Tuesday's torrential rain to rescue the men at approximately 9:00 Tuesday night. At one point, wardens had to bushwhack 600 yards of undergrowth to get to the river, and then search along the river bank's thick vegetation to get to Dalton. Luckily, temperatures were in the 50s, so the two men didn't need medical attention and were able to go home.
The Maine Warden Service cautions paddlers who venture out in high water conditions to use common sense and to always wear their personal flotation devices.
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