LEWISTON – A 77-year-old hunter lost in the woods along Ferry Road on Friday was found unharmed but not before he started a fire to stay warm as a search crew moved in around him.

Police said Paul Plante became disoriented after spending the afternoon in the woods behind his Grand Avenue home. When he hadn’t returned by nightfall, his wife became concerned and called police.

Lewiston and Maine State Police were joined by the Maine Warden’s Service and other volunteers as they began to search the woods for he missing man.

Wardens organized the crew into a search team that began combing the thickly wooded area in grids. The search grew more intense as the temperature dropped and two hours passed since the effort got under way.

“The terrain was pretty rugged out there,” said Lewiston police Lt. James Minkowsky. “It took some time.”

As it turned out, Plante had hunkered down in one spot after realizing he was lost. He used a lighter to start a fire in order to stay warm and assist search crews.

At about 6 p.m., wardens fired from a gun in hopes that Plante was nearby to hear the blast. As it turned out, he was.

“Mr. Plante returned the gunshot and they were able to identify his position that way,” Minkowsky said.

A few minutes later, searchers met with Plante in the woods and he was led safely back to his home. Police said Plante was unharmed and that he had done a good job in assisting the searchers with finding him.

“It was a happy ending to something that could have been tragic,” Minkowsky said.