The Maine Warden Service undertook two rescue missions in northern and southern Maine on Wednesday, efforts that involved two teenagers and an elderly man from Greater Portland.

Two Gorham teenagers, 16-year-old Nathaniel Nadeau and 15-year-old Garrick Brown, got lost on Debouillie Mountain, a 1,900-foot peak in Aroostook County, on Wednesday afternoon. The mountain is located in one of the state’s most remote locations in the northern Maine woods.

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Nathaniel Nadeau and Garrick Brown sit with Jen Brophy and game wardens who found them at Gardner Pond. Courtesy Maine Warden Service

Nadeau and Brown, who had been camping with Nadeau’s father, 46-year-old Mark Nadeau, told authorities they took the wrong trail down the mountain after becoming disoriented by a storm.

The boys were located about 3:30 a.m. Thursday on the western shore of Gardner Pond by game wardens, who had to hike over Debouillie Mountain to reach them.

Wardens credited Jen Brophy of Red River Sporting Camps with aiding them in the rescue. Brophy is familiar with the trails in that region.

Warden Service pilot Jeff Spencer flew into the area, arriving at dawn Thursday. He was able to taxi the boys to safety by crossing Gardner and Debouillie ponds.

Also on Wednesday, wardens found 86-year-old David Crocker of Portland on Meadow Brook in Casco. Crocker went missing Monday while fishing.

Crocker suffered what wardens described as a “severe medical event” while fishing, but was awakened Wednesday by a call that came in on his cellphone.

Four wardens and a Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy located him after searching along the banks of Meadow Brook.

Crocker was taken to Bridgton Hospital, where his condition was unavailable Thursday night.

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