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Milford Man In 'Good Spirits' After 20 Hours Trapped Under Snowmobile

ST. JOHN PLANTATION, Maine (CBS) - A Massachusetts man spent 20 hours trapped under his overturned snowmobile and survived.

Paul Lessard, 64, Milford, went out for a ride by himself Tuesday in St. John Plantation, Maine near the Canadian border.

He said he saw a small trail that cut into the woods and suddenly crashed.

"First I determined that I was alive," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Thursday.

Lessard didn't feel any broken bones, but he landed in a ditch with running water, while his snowmobile ended up upside down above him, trapping him.

"It probably would have been worse had I been going at a high rate of speed," he said.

Lessard told WBZ he was dressed for the weather with five layers of clothing and boots made to protect feet in temperatures down to 70 below zero.

He also had two blankets from his snowmobile seat. But it wasn't all cozy.

"I did get wet over the course of my stay in my little makeshift shelter," he said.

It also took him about five hours to get his helmet off.

His friends began to worry about him when he didn't come back, so they called the Maine game wardens.

They found him Wednesday morning.

Lessard was taken to Northern Maine Medical Center and then transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where he said he was "in very good spirits" Thursday.

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