ELLSWORTH, Maine — Two 9-year-olds reported missing from a Branch Pond Road home early Thursday evening were found a couple of hours later in a joint search conducted by officers with local police and fire departments, the Maine Warden Service and Maine State Police.
The 9-year-old brother and sister were initially out sledding but came back to their house and started playing in the snow in the yard, according to Ellsworth Police Sgt. Glenn Moshier.
“We initially got a call from Maine State Police around 4:45 p.m. from a trooper who lives nearby and talked to their mother, who was frantic,” Moshier said.
Ellsworth police and fire, Maine State Police, Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, and Maine Warden Service officers all responded to help with the search.
“We found them in the woods over a mile from their home,” Moshier said. “Their mother pointed out a trail in an area she hadn’t gone. I followed it and quickly saw some tracks. We eventually found them well into the woods heading away from their house.”
Ellsworth Fire Chief Richard Tupper said fire department personnel assisted with the search with thermal imaging equipment.
“We sent eight people in an engine and a rescue unit with thermal imaging cameras to assist police K-9 units,” Tupper said.
Moshier confirmed that Ellsworth’s K-9 unit search dog was also used to track footprints in the snow near the home, which is near Branch Lake.
“The tracks came to a Y, and one group went right and another went left and the group with our K-9 dog, Chase, practically ran right into the kids,” said Ellsworth police Lt. Harold Page.
Moshier said finding a clean set of the children’s tracks was the key.
”We were essentially able to track them down by their footprints and catch up to them,” said Moshier. “We found them around 7 p.m.”
Moshier credited Hancock County Regional Communication Center personnel for helping rescuers find the quickest way out of the woods after the found the children, who were uninjured and returned home.
BDN reporter Bill Trotter contributed to this story. Check back later for updates.
I hope the children are found safe soon.
WABI reported they have been missing since this afternoon and if that is the case I hope they find them soon.
They have been found….
Kristen…and? Are they ok?
According to EPD’s Facebook page, yes, they are fine. Cold, but fine.
Safe but cold
A much needed happy ending to a story.
Yikes – how scary. Thank god they are OK.
Safe but cold….
Nice Job by Search team1 of the Ellsworth Fire department and all the others finding these kids, its a high risk environment today and tonight and your local services got out there. Great job.
Doc Bowie for DEEMI
This calls for some good old fashion discipline.
Yeah beat them into submission. The society needs more sheep!.
Yeah Hope, the last thing I want to hear these days is kids playing outside instead of safely sitting in front of a giant LCD screen.
Thank God for the rescuers and their K-9s!!!
Nine-year-olds tend to wander when the activity slows down. It is usually a surprise, because up to nine, most children stay pretty close to home. Because our society is fast paced, and most often grandparents do not live nearby, we forget to teach children the old stuff. By nine, my parents had taught me “markers” near and far from our house, how to find “North” and outlined the yearly larger square where I was allowed to “explore.” Having raised a passel of children, I am very aware of how hard it is to keep an eye on them 24/7 Teaching them how to find their way home from the woods helps big time.
Great idea and because the children play near and in the woods the parents could use small bits of wood to put markers or arrows to point the way home and mark a tree and tell them to never go past that tree. Glad that the children are safe!
Were they lost or just out there playing?
Sledding, got lost whilst doing so.
So glad they were safe. Those are the kinds of things that kids do that make you want to hug them and then ground them and you are never sure which you want to do first! Scared, relieved, and angry are a few of the emotions that come up all at one time.
Glad they are alright ……………………. they will have one heck of a story to tell their kids, someday.
Plus they got a life experience that they will never forget.
Excellent job done by everyone who was out there looking for these two children! You couldn’t ask for a better outcome and their mother will be eternally grateful! There is nothing better than when a missing child is found unharmed.
Lucky that it snowed! There’s no more terrifying feeling than when a parent can’t find a child. Good job to all involved.
glad to hear an happy ending for a change…