Earnest Welch of Salem told state police he was tracking a deer when he got lost in the woods near Burden Hill.
QUINTON TWP. -- A hunter was found safe early Friday after getting lost and spending the night in the woods near Burden Hill, state police said.
Troopers from the Woodstown Station were called to an area along the Quinton Marlboro Pike (Route 49) around 6:55 p.m. Thursday to search for a hunter who was reported to be missing, according to State Police Spokesman Sgt. Jeff Flynn.
Earnest Welch of Salem, 51, had borrowed a friend's hunting blind around 2 p.m. Thursday. When Welch did not return from the woods, the friend went looking for Welch, Flynn said.
The friend found Welch's cell phone and personal items in the hunting blind, but not Welch.
Along with state troopers, members of the Quinton Fire Co., the Salem County Sheriff's Office's K-9 Unit and a state police helicopter with a spotlight were called in to aid in the search.
Flynn said Welch was found around 4:30 a.m. in a deer stand where he had taken shelter for the night.
He told police, Flynn said, that he got lost around 5 p.m. Thursday while tracking a deer in the woods.
Welch declined medical treatment, police said.
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow South Jersey Times on Twitter @TheSJTimes. Find NJ.com on Facebook.