Woman rescued, husband found dead about 200 yards away after couple went missing in Maine woods

A Maine woman was found suffering from hypothermia and her husband was found dead Thursday, four days after the couple went for a hike in a wooded area behind their home, according to reports.

The couple, 72-year-old Pamela Helmstadter and 82-year-old John Helmstadter took their dog, a black lab named Lucy, for a hike in a large forest behind their home, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife confirmed to Paste BN Monday morning.

They left for the walk on Sunday, reported television stations WMTV and WGME.

Neither of them had their phones and they were reported missing early Wednesday evening.

Maine Game Wardens and their K9s found the woman around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in Alexander, a town near Maine's border with Canada, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. They found her husband deceased around 3 p.m., wrote Mark Latti, the department’s communications director, in an email. They also found the couple’s dog, who was fine, Latti said.

“Pamela was found over a mile southeast of her home in the woods, and her husband, approximately 200 yards from her,” Latti wrote.

According to Latti, the woman’s husband fell and couldn't get up, so she went to get help. She told rescuers she was lost and couldn’t find her way out of the woods.

“When people get lost, often they wander in circles, unable to find their way out, and can walk quite a distance without getting anywhere,” Latti said.

Woman was ‘severely hypothermic’ when searchers found her Thursday

While searching for the couple, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife shared a post about them online and said they last spoke to family members on Saturday evening.

The department said the couple likely left their house on foot and their vehicles were still at their home. They asked that anyone with information contact the Maine Warden Service.

When searchers found Pamela on Thursday afternoon, she was “severely hypothermic with a core temperature of 90.7,” said Latti from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.

She was alert and was able to speak with the game wardens who found her though.

John, her husband, is set to be examined by the office of the State Medical Examiner for a cause of death.

Latti said that it rained Monday, when the couple was out in the woods, and on Wednesday temperatures were below freezing and there was “a frost.”

This story has been updated to correct a misspelling.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.