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Hunter lost in cold, rainy woods for 20 hours is found in bay, North Carolina cops say

Rescuers find missing hunter in woods after he was lost for 20 hours.
Rescuers find missing hunter in woods after he was lost for 20 hours. Photo from the Pender County Sheriff's Office.

A hunter in North Carolina was rescued after becoming lost in game lands, according to officials.

Wildlife officers were called around 1 p.m. Nov. 14 for reports of a missing hunter in the Holly Shelter Game Land, according to a Nov. 15 Facebook post by the Pender County Sheriff’s Office.

Several agencies worked together to look for the missing hunter.

“A K-9 team, and drones were used to search for the missing person. Drone teams were able to locate the individual and were able to provide direction and overwatch to the K-9 Scout and ground team who waded through waist deep water to safely locate and assist the lost person out of the woods,” the sheriff’s office said.

The hunter was in the “cold, rainy” woods for nearly 20 hours before being found roughly “1000 yards in a bay away from the closest roadway,” according to the sheriff’s office.

No injuries were reported, authorities said.

Holly Shelter Game Lands consists of nearly 65,000 acres in Pender County, according the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The land is used for hunting, fishing, viewing wildlife and hiking, among other things.

Pender County is about a 110-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.

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This story was originally published November 17, 2024 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Hunter lost in cold, rainy woods for 20 hours is found in bay, North Carolina cops say."

Jennifer Rodriguez
mcclatchy-newsroom
Jennifer Rodriguez is a McClatchy National Real-Time reporter covering the Central and Midwest regions. She joined McClatchy in 2023 after covering local news in Youngstown, Ohio, for over six years. Jennifer has made several achievements in her journalism career, including receiving the Robert R. Hare Award in English, the Emerging Leader Justice and Equality Award, the Regional Edward R. Murrow Award and the Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan Award.
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