August 2, 2018

MDIFW NEWS -- Missing Milbridge Woman Located Alive

For Immediate Release

MILBRIDGE, Maine - On Wednesday, August 1, 2018, Suzanne Hubbell, 83, of Milbridge, was reported missing to the Washington County Sheriff's Department when a caretaker arrived at her home to pick her up to give her a ride and discovered she wasn't home. A search effort was immediately initiated by the Maine Warden Service, Milbridge Police Department, Washington County Sheriff's Department and Maine Marine Patrol. A K9 track was started in the area after a passerby reported seeing her with her dog near her residence about 8:00 A.M. The K9 unit was unable to indicate a direction of travel.

A Maine Warden Service aircraft and Maine Army Guard Helicopter with FLIR joined in on the search effort by late afternoon. Visibility from the air was poor due to the thick vegetation and leaf cover of the woods in the search area.

As evening approached, media outlets were notified in an effort to identify additional witnesses who may have seen Suzanne Hubbell walking in the surrounding area where she live. Additionally, the Maine Association of Search and Rescue (MASAR)* was alerted and search units from Dirigo Search and Rescue (DIRIGO), MDI Search and Rescue (MDISAR), and Maine Search and Rescue dogs (MESARD) arrived and joined the search effort. Volunteers from these groups as well as locals from Suzanne Hubbell's neighborhood assisted by searching the roadways and woods in the area.

Maine Warden Service Incident Command Team members systematically deployed groups in the search area to maximize the search effort. At approximately 11:15 P.M. Debbie Palman , her K9 black lab Raven along with their flanker, William Nichols, found Suzanne Hubbell after following a disturbed area in the vegetation in the woods. She was located approximately 1/2 mile in the woods from the nearest road.

Suzanne Hubbell was located alive, but was wet from the earlier rain showers in the area. Multiple searchers and agency personnel assisted in carrying her out to a waiting ambulance. She was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

Photo courtesy of the Maine Warden Service. Maine Game Wardens, MASAR* searchers, and EMS personnel worked together to assist Suzanne Hubbell out of the woods in Milbridge when she was located alive on Wednesday night.

*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.

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