Hiker missing 3 days is found with injured knee, bug bites in Maine’s Baxter State Park

Hiker missing 3 days is found hurt in Maine park

BAXTER STATE PARK, Maine — A hiker missing for three days in a state park in northern Maine has been spotted while waving at a search helicopter and has been rescued.

The helicopter landed Monday afternoon near 41-year-old Michael Hays, who had a crushed kneecap and was covered in insect bites. Rescuers helped him hobble to the helicopter and flew him to a hospital.

Hays was seen by other hikers Friday afternoon on the narrow and rocky Knife Edge Trail between Pamola Peak and Baxter Peak, both about 5,000 feet high. The search began Saturday after he failed to sign out on a trail register.

The Stow, Ohio, resident is an experienced hiker who was equipped for a day hike. But he says he made several stupid mistakes. He credits park rangers with getting him out alive.