A missing North Carolina man was found dead early this morning by authorities. The Maine Forrest Service tells Star 97.7 that 55 Year-Old Willard Hartsock, from Old Fort, NC, died in a snowmobile related incident near Rockwood.
When Hartsock did not return home as expected, his family notified police last evening around 9:00. A game warden and sheriff’s deputy located the residence on Lake Street in Rockwood. There they found Hartsock’s vehicle, snowmobile trailer and various belongings. There was no snowmobile found at the residence. A search ensued on the local snowmobile trails late last evening. Hartsock was located deceased at 1:00 this morning along a portion of Interconnecting Trail System (ITS) 88 in Taunton & Raynham Academy Grant.
The scene indicates that Hartsock approached a wet area on the snowmobile trail, stopped, and placed the snowmobile in reverse. While in reverse, it appears the machine rolled onto Hartsock According to game wardens, there has been very little snow in the Rockwood region and trails have seen very little use to this point. This incident remains under investigation.
