Heroes of the Week: NH Fish and Game Saves Snowmobilers on Day Mountain

It seems like every weekend, the amazing people who work for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department are making winter rescues in the White Mountains. This time, they joined forces with the Stratford, NH Fire Department and rescued two snowmobilers in their 70s from bitter temperatures.

(Photo: Snowmobilers being rescued. Not this event- Credit: Department of Defense file photo)

NH Fish and Game & Stratford Fire Dept Rescue Snowmobilers 

 

NH Fish and Game say the men attempted to self-rescue for five hours before calling 911. One man was transported who was hypothermic.

Jeffrey Hastings, Tue, Feb 4, 2025 at 1:13 pm ET

NORTH STRATFORD, NH — New Hampshire Fish and Game worked with other agencies to rescue two snowmobilers after becoming cold, wet and lost on a network of ungroomed trails Monday.

At approximately 8 p.m., NH Fish and Game received word that Henry Daigle, 71, of Derry, and Paul Ouellette, 70, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, were lost in the area of Day Mountain. A conservation officer was able to get the men on the phone and learned that they were almost out of fuel, had low cell phone batteries, and were wet and cold.

Working with 911, locations for the men were developed and they were given directions on where to attempt to go. The men tried to get out of the area but kept encountering loops and dead ends. It was determined that they had been navigating with old trail maps and had gotten off of the groomed snowmobile trails and onto ungroomed ATV trails.

The men were down to one cell phone by 9:30 p.m., soaked from hours of heavy snow, and still stuck in the area of Day Mountain. Given the totality of the situation, a rescue response was initiated. Along with a conservation officer, members of the Stratford Hollow Fire Department responded to the area with personnel and a tracked UTV (utility terrain vehicle). Fire personnel were first to arrive on scene and immediately drove their UTV into the Day Mountain area to search for the men.

(Snow in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Credit: https://www.visitwhitemountains.com/) 

Shortly after 11 p.m., the men were located approximately four miles into the woods from NH Route 3. One of the men was treated at the scene for hypothermia and the other was able to follow rescuers back to the road on his snowmobile. Once roadside, the hypothermic man was evaluated by members of the Groveton Ambulance and transported to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook for further evaluation and treatment.

As a result of an investigation into this incident, it was learned by authorities that the men had been attempting self-rescue for five hours. Although they were wearing good gear, that many hours in wind-driven snow had left them wet and chilled. They had additional safety gear with them and deployed four space blankets to stay warm while waiting for the arrival of rescuers.

Conservation officers said they were thankful that many local fire departments now have specialized off-road rescue vehicles. The Stratford Fire Department recently acquired their UTV and it has already been used multiple times this winter to respond to emergencies in remote areas.