Joshua Bubier, Warden Service lieutenant, is the statewide search and rescue coordinator for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Submitted photo

The first thing anyone who is planning a hiking, camping, canoeing or other type of trip should do is let someone know what their plans are, suggests Joshua Bubier, Warden Service lieutenant and statewide search and rescue coordinator for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Providing an itinerary of planned events can be helpful should plans go awry and law enforcement officials need to track you down, he said. That itinerary should include where you are going — and with whom — where you plan to park, details about your destination, the time you plan to arrive and return and if you will be able to check back in with someone.

He also suggests that people bring a cellphone in case they need to call 911 for an emergency, he said.

“Research the area you plan to go to — know if you will actually have cellphone coverage prior to needing it,” he said. “If you routinely venture out on day or overnight trips there are a number of devices that have the ability to provide satellite communications with family or with emergency services if the need arises.”

Should something go wrong and you find yourself off a marked trail, lost or have a loved one who has gone missing, he also offers other advice.

What should a person do if they find themselves off of a marked trail and disoriented in the woods?

The most important thing to remember — don’t panic. Once you’ve realized you’re off a marked trail just sit down and relax.  Often times people aren’t off the trail as far as they think they are. It may be likely that another hiker or hikers will pass by and you may be able to hear them and call out for help. Having a noise making device such as a whistle could help. Blowing the whistle every five minutes or so would alert anyone that may be just out of your hearing range. If you are able to call 911, do it and just stay put. Wandering around may only get you further off the trail, however for more experienced hikers that may be able to problem solve their situation trying to relocate the trail may be a possibility. At some point if you realize you’re truly lost it is just best to find an open area and make yourself comfortable.  Hopefully you’ve left information with someone that can report you missing in the event you don’t have a means of communication. This may mean spending an evening or part of a night in the woods before help arrives. Remember, the woods at night is the same place it is during the day. Wild animal attacks are extremely rare and animals tend to do their best to avoid human contact — day or night.

What should someone do if they become injured in the woods?

Stay calm and try to assess your injuries. Carrying some sort of first aid kit is always strongly recommended. Try to immediately call for help and be able to provide your location and where you accessed your location from. In addition to the basic first aid and CPR classes, there are additional first aid courses such as wilderness first aid that individuals can take to be better prepared for emergencies in the wilderness.

What should a family member do when a loved one in cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer’s disease, goes missing? What things can family members do to ensure that they don’t go missing or to better track them?

Prior to a loved one with cognitive decline going missing, it is important to set up a regular check-in schedule particularly if the person lives alone. The sooner it is realized that the person is missing the sooner the call for help can be made. This call needs to happen immediately. Individuals suffering from cognitive decline often still have the ability to travel great distances but their logic and reasoning is often much different than someone who may not suffer from the same cognitive decline, making finding those individuals more challenging. Therefore, the sooner the person is reported missing, the easier it will be to locate them.

Family members should consider looking into placing alarms on doors and windows and possibly cameras around the property in case the person goes missing. Often times cameras can capture a direction of travel from the residence. Additionally, there are a number of GPS-based tracking devices that families can look into. These devices are generally worn on the wrist and give families the ability to locate their loved one in real time. It should be noted that generally, in addition to an original equipment purchase, there is often a monthly subscription fee that accompanies these devices.

Other products may offer radio-based frequency tracking products. The Maine Warden Service is involved with the Project Life Saver program in which clients are equipped with a radio transmitter on a bracelet. In the event that the person goes missing, responding wardens can have the ability to determine which direction the person is by utilizing a receiver that can help locate the transmitter based on its assigned frequency number. These types of products do not allow the Warden Service or family members to show the person’s location on a map in live time, however.