May 6, 2014

BODY RECOVERED FROM UMBAZOOKSUS LAKE

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Maine Warden Service

--For Immediate Release--

UMBAZOOKSUS LAKE (T6 R13 WELS): Earlier today, a Maine game warden pilot was surveying ice conditions on northern Maine lakes. While inspecting ice conditions the pilot also scanned the area for missing Canadian resident, Renald Poulin. At approximately 10:45 AM, he observed what he believed to be a body in Umbazooksus Lake. Game Wardens on the ground arrived several hours later with watercraft to retrieve the body which was located approximately 2 miles northwest of Umbazooksus Dam on the western shore of the lake. The Maine Warden Service believes the body to be that of Renald Poulin of St. Come Quebec, Canada. The body will be examined by the Medical Examiner?s Office in Augusta to positively determine identification. The Maine Warden Service has been in contact with the family of Mr. Poulin since the search began last November and we are hopeful the family will now have closure. SEARCH HISTORY: While searching for two Millinocket men in an unrelated search, game wardens located a vehicle owned by a man from Quebec for whom authorities from Canada had also been searching. The search was suspended on December 13, 2013 as heavy snow began to fall in the search area. Search efforts were to resume when temperatures began to melt snow in that region this spring.

Renald Poulin, age 67 from Quebec, crossed into the U.S. on Tuesday, November 26th and was to return November 27, 2013. On Saturday, November 30th, game wardens located his green 2002 Kia Sedona. Poulin was not hunting; it is believed that he had interest in the train rail systems located in the Umbazooksus Lake area used decades ago in the logging industry.

The ice on Umbazooksus Lake and nearby small bogs and wet areas made detecting evidence of Poulin especially difficult. Weather conditions needed to improve significantly before further searching occurred. Search teams conducted a combination of grid, hasty, and K9 team searches. Temperatures remained at approximately 10 degrees (F) and snow began to fall during the last days of searching in December. The ground search was suspended but aerial flights had started to occur again this spring as snow and ice began to melt in that region. Ground searching was planned for next week. When search efforts were suspended last December, as many as 22 game wardens, 18 members of the Maine Association of Search and Rescue (MASAR), four Maine Forest Rangers, and members of the Civil Air Patrol assisted with searching. Search teams associated with MASAR* included Lincoln SAR, Lincoln County SAR, Wilderness SAR, Waldo County SAR, Franklin County SAR, and the Maine Association of Search and Rescue Dogs (MESARD).

(No photos were available from today?s recovery effort. The attached photo courtesy of the Maine Warden Service and were taken during last winter?s search efforts. Photo 02: Maine game warden divers search Umbazooksus Stream.)

*The Maine Association for Search and Rescue (MASAR) is a non-profit organization that promotes and develops search and rescue resources for the state of Maine. MASAR provides training and certification for search and rescue volunteers using nationally-recognized standards. See mainesearchandrescue.org for more information.

No further information is available at this time.

Please direct media related calls to Corporal John MacDonald by calling: Public Safety Dispatch in Gray at 207-657-3030 Email at: john.macdonald@maine.gov