Lincoln County deputies spent hours overnight on Saturday into Sunday morning attempting to aid a lost hunter and find a missing juvenile.

At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, a caller phoned the Sheriff’s Office and reported that a hunter had come to his home earlier that day seeking a ride, telling the man he became lost while hunting in the Underdown Recreation Area. The caller drove the man around for some time trying to locate the hunter’s truck but was unable to do so and eventually the hunter just asked to be dropped off.

The caller reported later that evening he was returning to his cabin on Bear Trail Road when he saw the man walking again, prompting him to phone law enforcement.

Deputies checked numerous roadways and the county parks but were not able to locate the man walking and with no reports of missing persons they discontinued their searching around midnight hoping the man had reached his destination. At 2 a.m., a cell caller reported a man walking around on Bear Trail Road dressed in orange holding a rifle.

A deputy located him and in speaking with him he stated he was hunting with his 14-year-old grandson and he did not know where his vehicle or the grandson was. Tomahawk EMS responded and checked the man for a medical condition while deputies fanned out to search for the missing grandson with the aid of family members who were now responding to the area.

At 8:30 a.m., a group of hunters called saying they found the boy walking at County Road B and Demeyer Road in the Town of Harrison. The boy was found to be in good health. He told a deputy that his grandfather had placed him in a spot in the woods to sit and he walked out to the truck once it became dark. When the grandfather did not return, the youth went to bed in the back of the truck. The next morning when his grandfather had still not returned he started walking knowing he would run into other hunters. The reunited family members all left the area for home by 9 a.m.