HANCOCK

Searchers find two cousins who got lost in the woods

Two cousins who spent the night lost in the woods in Hancock have been found safe.

The Maine Warden Service said 12-year-old Selena Alley and her 15-year-old cousin Amanda Alley were found around 7 a.m. Saturday about 3,000 feet from their home. The pair had gone for a walk in the woods about 5 p.m. Friday and were reported missing around midnight.

Game wardens, sheriff’s deputies and Maine State Police searched for the girls through the night, and the search was expanded Saturday morning with a plane and helicopter.

Officials said the girls had some bug bites but were otherwise fine. They said the girls stopped once they realized they were lost, made a shelter and tried to make a fire.

AUGUSTA

Maine State Police cruisers out in force this weekend

Maine State Police are out in force as tourists and locals hit the road on the holiday weekend.

Col. Robert Williams, state police chief, said troopers are looking for impaired and aggressive drivers, and occupants not wearing seat belts, with special enforcement efforts utilizing federal funding.

Overall, traffic on the Maine Turnpike is expected to be down from a year ago.

The Maine Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Southern Maine said turnpike traffic is projected to decline 5.4 percent at the York toll plaza. That means about 19,000 fewer vehicles will enter and exit Maine via Interstate 95 from Friday through Monday.

LePage salutes Americans who serve in armed forces

Maine Gov. Paul LePage used his weekly radio address to talk not about the legislative session that just ended but about the Founding Fathers and sacrifices made by military personnel.

He urged Mainers celebrating America’s 235th birthday with picnics, parades and fireworks not to forget the foundation on which the nation was built. In particular, he asked Mainers to give special thanks to members of the nation’s armed forces.

He noted that Maine has a long history of service dating to the Civil War, and that 19 Mainers have given their lives in military service in Afghanistan.

He said to take the time on the Fourth of July to thank a service member or veteran and to remember “those who are no longer with us.”

— From staff and news services