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Press Releases

February 8, 2008

Five Snowmobilers From New York Lost Near Greenville

Augusta, Maine – A search is under way for five snowmobilers from New York state who called two friends early this morning to say they were lost en route from a Greenville bar to a hotel in Bingham.

The Maine Warden Service was notified of the missing men at approximately 9 a.m. and have initiated a search. One warden is contacting Greenville bars and hotels, a cell phone company and family members to get vital information that will be helpful in finding the men. Two wardens are en route and a pilot is prepared to go into the air.

It is snowing in the Greenville area and visibility is a concern.

At approximately 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the five men told two acquaintances at North Country Rivers in Bingham, where they were staying, that they were going out riding. They did not say they’re route, according to Maine Warden Service Sgt. Ralph Hosford.

Less than three hours later – at approximately 8 p.m. – one of the men, using a cell phone, called a family member to say they were in a Greenville bar right on Moosehead Lake and they were drinking, Hosford said.

Around 12:40 a.m. today, one of the men, using a cell phone, called the two acquaintances and said they were lost. He said the men – each on their own snowmobiles – were low on fuel, on a logging road trail, and that they didn’t want to go out onto a snowmobile trail because they were concerned that they’d run out of gas.

What the Maine Warden Service is looking into is what direction the men may have been headed. Hosford said there are “piles of snowmobiles” out on trails today yet there have not been any reports or confirmed sightings of the men.

“If they were in an area of the trails, they’d be picked up by now,” Hosford said.

Hosford said he is working with a cell phone company to locate which tower the calls may have been sent from. He said he’s been checking restaurants and bars in the Greenville area to track credit card receipts and other information that could help determine which way the men were headed.

The names of the men are:

  • Lee Mazzola, 51, of Marlborough, N.Y.
  • James Mannese, 50, of Milton, N.Y.
  • Joseph Mannese, James’ son, 28, of Milton, N.Y.
  • Robert Lattimore, 43, of Newburgh, N.Y.
  • Timothy Roberts, 49, of Marlborough, N.Y.

Anyone who locates the men or has any information as to their whereabouts or route is asked to call the Maine Warden Service’s Greenville office at 695-3756 or the Maine State Police in Orono at 1-800-432-7381.