FARMINGTON – A missing Waterville man who became the subject of a widespread search on Monday was found walking along Route 2 here Tuesday.

An official believed that Ray Thurber, 58, didn’t know he was the subject of a search. His car was found abandoned with a seized engine on a remote logging road south of Rockwood and north of Greenville.

The Maine Warden Service had received a report of an abandoned car on Monday morning on a logging road west of routes 6 and 15 in Taunton & Raynham Academy Grant, Maine Warden Service spokesman Mark Latti said Tuesday.

The tan sedan belonged to Thurber and had a disabled veteran Florida license plate on it and personal items in it, Latti said.

A forest ranger who found the car believed it was abandoned between 1 p.m. Sunday and 8 a.m. Monday, he said.

Thurber was reported to have been seen Saturday and Sunday and was last seen about 9:30 p.m. in Sangerville. He was presumed to have been missing in the woods in the surrounding area, Latti said.

Game wardens started searching the area late Monday morning by foot and by plane, with dog teams searching through the night, Latti said. On Tuesday morning, more than 40 people were searching for Thurber, including 14 game wardens, six Department of Conservation forest rangers, a helicopter and volunteers.

Reports started coming in Tuesday morning from people who had seen Thurber in Farmington in several spots, including Hannaford and Wal-Mart in Farmington, Latti said.

A photo of Thurber was distributed to television news stations and was broadcasted.

Maine State Police were notified and Trooper Matthew Casavant eventually found Thurber between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. walking along routes 2 and 27 near the Farmington Motel, where he had checked in, Latti said.

After abandoning his car Sunday night, Thurber got a ride to Guilford, took a cab to Skowhegan and a second cab to Farmington, Latti said. “I don’t think he knew he was being searched for.”

The search cost thousands of dollars, but Latti said it would be difficult to put an exact price on it until all the information was gathered.

“Searches do get expensive,” he said.