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Contact: Edie Smith, Spokesperson
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
284 State Street
41 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333


Telephone: work (207) 592-4348

Fax: (207) 287-6395

January 28, 2011

New Limerick Man Dies After Hitting Moose While Snowmobiling

Augusta, Maine - Leon Botting Sr., 51, of Limerick died Friday afternoon (Jan. 28) when he hit a moose with his snowmobile at an apparent high rate of speed on a snowmobile trail west of Houlton.

Mr. Botting was the last of three snowmobilers traveling on Shaw Camp Trail in Hammond Township on Friday afternoon, according to Maine Warden Service Sgt. Dan Menard.

His friends, Brian Nickerson, 53, of Houlton and Mike Britton, 40, of New Limerick had traveled ahead of Mr. Botting. They stopped, looked back at the trail for Mr. Botting, and after a short period of time decided to back-track the trail to find him.

The moose had walked onto the trail and Mr. Botting was unable to stop. Mr. Botting and the moose both were thrown off the trail upon impact. The snowmobiler and the moose died at the scene.

Mr. Botting was wearing a helmet. Speed and the animal on the trail are likely causes.

The incident was reported at 2:05 p.m., and is under investigation.

MWS Game Wardens Andrew Smart, Kevin Pelkey, Ben Drew, Alan Dudley and Eric Rudolph, and Houlton Fire and Rescue also responded

With a number of outdoor activities scheduled throughout the state this weekend, the Maine Warden Service reminds snowmobilers to drive at a reasonable speed according to conditions and to have enough room to brake if obstacles such as wildlife appear on the trails.