GRAFTON TOWNSHIP – Two overdue winter campers stranded in the Mahoosuc Mountains by heavy snows were airlifted to safety Monday.

Mitch Miller of Bethel, who is in his early 30s, and C.J. Knight, 32, of Scarborough, “were fine,” said Maine Warden Service spokesman Mark Latti. “There were no signs of frostbite,” he added.

More than 3 feet of snow, with drifts up to 6 feet, blocked their route, Latti said.

The two were in woods northwest of Bethel near the New Hampshire state line.

The pair didn’t have snowshoes, despite being described as experienced winter campers, Latti said.

The rescue effort, overseen by Warden Sgt. Pat Dorian, began when a caller contacted the warden service Monday, notifying it about the two men, who had planned to camp from Thursday to Sunday.

“They are experienced winter campers and they were not reported as missing. But as it got later, fears increased. They were due back yesterday,” Latti said.

Game wardens worked with the Maine Army National Guard, which was in the area with a helicopter helping to locate a school group from the Oxford Hills area that was in the Evans Notch area.

Initially, Latti said, wardens wanted to use the helicopter to drop supplies to the two men, but decided instead to airlift Miller and Knight to Berlin Municipal Airport in Berlin, N.H.

Across Maine Monday, wardens were involved in the rescue of 15 people stranded by the northeaster.

Latti said the service got another call Monday night, advising of an elderly woman snowbound at Austin Pond in Bald Mountain Township. The pond is south of the Appalachian Trail and east of Caratunk.

Latti said the woman was stuck in a 30-foot recreational vehicle with her 18 dogs.

“We’ve got wardens going in there to bring her kerosene and try and talk her into leaving with them. She has a heart condition, but doesn’t want to leave the dogs. We might end up having to plow seven miles of road,” he added.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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