TOWNSHIP E — A Connecticut man was recovering Friday after being rescued from the Appalachian Trail near Rangeley, according to Cpl. John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service.

William Appleby, 56, of Clinton, Conn., was suffering severe abdominal pain, possibly caused by food poisoning, MacDonald said, and used a hand-held locator beacon to transmit an emergency signal.

The beacon transmits a continuous distress signal to orbiting satellites, which send it to a federal government ground station. The satellites relay the location of the distress signal, according to the website HikeSafe.

Maine game wardens responded at 2:30 a.m. Friday and, along with members of the Rangeley Fire Rescue Department, boated across Long Pond, MacDonald said in a news release.

“Local boat owner Allie Ladd graciously offered both his boat and time to help rescue Appleby,” he said.

Once across the pond, it was a 10-minute hike to reach Appleby. Paramedics Earle Albert and Allie Ladd, and Game Warden Patrick Egan carried Appleby to the boat, which took him across the pond to an all-terrain vehicle. From there he was taken by NorthStar EMS ambulance to Rumford Hospital for evaluation.

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appalachian trail, hiker, warden
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