HOWLAND — A 23-year-old Maine deer hunter is safe after he spent the night in the woods on an island after the stream around it flooded because of an ice jam.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says Josh Spaulding left to go muzzleloading deer hunting on Saturday. His father reported him missing at 8 p.m.

Officials say the area received 15 inches of snow last week and ice in the Penobscot River had caused the levels of streams to rise.

Spaulding told rescuers he chased a deer across a stream before becoming stranded on the island. He made a fire to stay warm.

Spaulding had to wade through waist-deep water to reach a hovercraft sent to rescue him. He wasn’t hurt.


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