Baxter State Park rangers were searching backcountry hiking trails Friday for a 78-year-old Virginia man who failed to return from a Thursday hike in the Mount Coe area of Baxter State Park, according to a post on the Baxter State Park Facebook page.
John Lyon last was seen on the Mount Coe Trail between Mount Coe and South Brother Mountain around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the post. Lyon reportedly was hiking with three others from the Virginia/Washington, D.C., area when he left the group at lunch to hike ahead.
Rangers were assisted in the search by Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Forest Service aircraft.
The post said the search would be expanded Saturday using volunteer search-and-rescue teams from the Maine Association of Search and Rescue as well as Maine game wardens, Maine Forest Service personnel and Baxter rangers.
To assist in the search efforts, the Marston Trailhead and the Marston and Coe Trails reportedly will be closed to public use until further notice.