(Host) Neal Hogan, a hunter for thirty years, went into the woods of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom on Saturday morning. He got separated from his companions, and his dogs.
Hogan had no map no compass, and no survival gear.
The State Police found him just after midnight, wet, cold and very tired.
Lieutenant Tom Hanlon commands the Derby Barracks, and he says Hogan was his fifth hunter rescue of the year.
(Hanlon) “The gentlemen this past weekend evening though he’s an experienced hunter it’s just possibly some complacency. After 30 years he just didn’t have a map or compass or GPS with him and that can be a fatal error.”
(Host) Lieutenant Hanlon says the most important thing a hunter can do before going off-road is to leave a plan with someone. The plan should show where the hunter’s entering the woods, where he’s going, where he’s coming back out, and when.
Hanlon says the rescues can be costly.
In a recent rescue of two moose hunters who were in the woods for three days, the cost of the rescue was about $25 or $30,000.
Hanlon says those costs are borne by the taxpayers.