EUSTIS — Wardens searching for a missing man and his grandson who went for help on Friday after the boat they were riding in on Flagstaff Lake broke down, found the lost pair unharmed 12 hours later on Saturday morning, Maine Warden Service spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte said.

James Kelly, 72, of Lewes, Del., and his grandson, James Kelly, 11, of Windsor, Calif., were on a boating trip on Friday with three others when the boat developed engine problems, Turcotte said by e-mail.

The five people managed to get the boat ashore. Soon after, the two Kellys went for help by trying to walk out of the woods to where they thought there was a road, Turcotte said.

However, they got lost and called for help on a cell phone.

Turcotte said wardens were notified of the missing boaters at 7 p.m. Friday.

At least three wardens responded and began searching for the Kellys, but the effort was called off for part of the night due to darkness, she said.

The three who stayed with the boat were found through global positioning system coordinates from a cell phone, Turcotte said.

At 7 a.m. Saturday, the elder and younger Kellys were found unhurt on a snowmobile trail, brought out of the woods and reunited with their friends, Turcotte said.

Prior to 10 a.m., they were taken to the Eustis/Stratton Fire Department.

“The pair was cold, but fine when located,” Turcotte said.

“With any search, if a person calls for help using a cell phone, a dispatcher will tell the person to stay put,” Turcotte said. “This enables Maine State Police to relay the GPS coordinates to us. This helps so much in the rescue by saving time. We’ve had instances where people believe that if they leave that spot, they will be cutting down on the rescue time.”

Often, it doesn’t, because the person or group may be going farther away from help, she said.
tkarkos@sunjournal.com