Rescue crews remove a New Sharon man from a bog in Weld on Friday. Photo courtesy of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife

A 75-year-old New Sharon man who went missing on his way to a meeting Monday was rescued Friday evening from a bog in Weld and is in “surprisingly good condition,” according to rescuers.

Game wardens and sheriff’s deputies believe Michael Altmaier tumbled 30 feet from a ledge overlook in Mount Blue State Park, where he had hiked to take photographs of the surrounding landscape.

Altmaier was reported missing after he left his New Sharon home on Monday afternoon and didn’t show up to deliver a presentation that evening at a summer camp in Weld where he had been a counselor for over 50 years.

“It is believed Altmaier had fallen down over a ledged embankment Monday and likely became disoriented and ended up in the area of the bog that evening,” said Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.

Altmaier was reported missing Tuesday evening by staff at Camp Kawanhee, an overnight camp for boys ages 7-17 where he was expected to give a presentation Monday evening, said Lt. David Rackliffe of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.

Altmaier was scheduled to deliver a talk on the history of the camp, where he was a counselor for many decades through last summer and now volunteers, said Mark Standen, co-executive director of the camp on Lake Webb.

“Camp Kawanhee is 104 years old and Mike has been regarded as the camp historian for many years,” Standen said. “Many people here were concerned about Mike.”

After deputies were unable to reach Altmaier by phone and contacted his family, authorities launched a search of Franklin and Oxford counties based on his usual destinations and geo-locations from his recent cell phone activity.

Mount Blue State Park staff found Altmaier’s car Thursday night in the parking lot of the Center Hill Nature Trail. Rescuers believe Altmier parked there Monday afternoon and hiked up to the scenic overlook to take a few photographs that he planned to show as part of his presentation at Camp Kawanhee, Rackliffe said.

“The rock overlook was wet from recent rain,” Rackliffe said Saturday. “He slipped and fell down the ledge face. It’s about 30 feet, which would be a pretty good tumble for anybody.”

Injured and disoriented, and despite being close to roads, Altmaier walked and crawled more than a half-mile until he could go no farther, rescuers said.

“Unfortunately, he went in the one direction that led him deeper into the woods,” Rackliffe said.

When rescuers failed to find him Thursday night, the Maine Warden Service organized a coordinated effort Friday morning that included Franklin Search & Rescue members and Maine Association for Search and Rescue volunteers.

At around 3:45 p.m. Friday, a Maine Warden Service K9 team located Altmaier in the bog and administered first aid, Rackliffe said. At around 6 p.m., a Maine Forest Service helicopter airlifted him out of the woods to NorthStar EMS personnel, who had been standing by to render more advanced medical care, Rackliffe said.

Rescuers said Altmaier “was in surprisingly good condition despite spending the last four days laying in the area of the bog,” Latti said in a statement.

Altmier was in stable condition Saturday evening at Franklin Memorial Hospital, Rackliffe said.