A man was rescued by emergency personnel after becoming separated from his brother in the woods Wednesday.
Pearl River County Emergency Management Director Danny Manley said emergency personnel got the call that afternoon at about 3:30 that two men had gone into the woods in the Pine Grove community and had gotten lost.
High temperatures at the time made the situation dangerous. Pearl River County Fire Marshal Albert Lee said the heat index that afternoon was about 102 degrees.
“It could have been bad,” Lee said about the situation.
Lee identified the brothers as 48-year-old Ron Cantrell and 42-year-old Jamie Cantrell; both are county residents.
Manley said the men were in unfamiliar surroundings, leading them to become lost and separated. Responding personnel included firefighters with the Pine Grove Volunteer Fire Department, deputies with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department and paramedics with AAA Ambulance Services.
Pine Grove Fire Chief Steve Seal said that, to his understanding, the men went to look at property they were considering for purchase, when they separated. Lee said that when emergency personnel arrived on scene, they found Jamie as he was exiting the woods, but Ron was still missing. Lee said the property was between Fox Trail and Pine Grove roads.
Emergency personnel were first called about the incident earlier that day, by a woman who lived across the street, because a strange vehicle was parked in the area. She also said she saw what appeared to be an intoxicated man walking in the woods nearby, who was actually determined to be Ron suffering from an illness, Lee said. The father of the men was the last to report the incident when his attempts to contact them around 3:30 that afternoon failed.
Seal and his bloodhound, along with several volunteer firefighters, entered the woods in an attempt to find Ron. His dog picked up Ron’s scent and was able to bring Seal to within 100 feet of where Ron was in the woods, but the other volunteers found Ron first, Seal said.
When they found him, Ron was suffering from a medical emergency and appeared to be in further distress due to the heat.
“I think the outcome would have been pretty bad had we not been able to find him,” Seal said. “The dog did good, I was proud of him.”
Seal said he’s been training his 3-year-old dog for the past year and a half to track, spending hours out in the woods at a time.
Finding Ron was a team effort, Seal said. He credited the sheriff’s department and AAA for having personnel out there to help with the search.
“It was a big group effort,” Seal said.
After being found, Ron was transported to Highland Community Hospital, where he was held overnight for observation and released the next day, Lee said.
“They did an excellent job finding that guy that fast,” Lee said.
Lee said emergency personnel were on scene within minutes of the call being placed, and had found Ron by 4:39 p.m. the same day.