(PatriotNews.net) – A 72-year-old woman in Maine was rescued after being lost in the woods for four days with her husband and their dog. Sadly, her husband, 82-year-old John Helmstadter, did not survive the ordeal.
Pamela Helmstadter and her husband went for a walk Sunday morning on familiar trails behind their home in Alexander, a rural town in Washington County. At some point along the trail, John fell and couldn’t get back up. Without her cellphone, Pamela made the difficult decision to leave him behind while she went to search for help.
“She was in better shape than he was, and they decided it would be best for her to go find help,” explained Sgt. Josh Beal from the Maine Warden Service.
However, Pamela never made it out in time. With no word from the couple for days, a neighbor became concerned after noticing a package left untouched at their home. On Thursday, local authorities launched a search effort.
Officials from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife announced the search on Facebook, noting that the couple had last spoken with family on Saturday night. Hours later, game wardens with a search dog found Pamela, alive but suffering from hypothermia. To everyone’s relief, the couple’s dog was still by her side, doing its part to keep her alive.
“When the K-9 team found her, her dog was lying on her chest, keeping her warm,” Beal said. “It seems like that’s what the dog did every night, protecting her from the cold.”
Pamela was able to explain what had happened during the rescue. Sadly, her husband John was discovered less than 200 yards away, dead from exposure.
Authorities said the weather had made survival especially difficult. “It rained all day Monday, and temperatures dropped to 27 or 28 degrees by Wednesday night,” Beal shared. “She did remarkably well to survive under those conditions.”
Pamela was taken to the hospital, where she is recovering. Though the ordeal ended in tragedy, the loyalty of her dog and her own willpower kept her alive through days of cold and isolation in the wilderness.
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