Seven game wardens and other authorities from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and the Ellsworth Fire Department launched a search of Seymour’s hunting grounds that evening. A state trooper spotted Seymour’s truck parked on a rural road in the town of Ellsworth, allowing the search party to narrow its search in the broad region.

Game wardens discovered Seymour pinned underneath his ATV just before midnight. He was found dead at the scene, the victim of a rollover accident.

According to the Daily News, the Maine Warden Service said that Seymour had been riding on a steep trail with a granite edge when he apparently lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll over on top of him.

Alcohol was not believed to be a factor, according to the Daily News report. Seymour was not wearing a helmet, but reports do not say whether he died as a result of head injuries.

Like other states with large swaths of wilderness and several rural communities, Maine has seen a dramatic upswing in the number of ATV related deaths and injuries in recent years. The rise in the number of ATV accidents reflects a national trend that has prompted the U.S. Consumer Safety Products Commission to initiate the process of regulating all-terrain vehicles. The CPSC has stated that ATV manufacturers have failed to hold themselves to adequate safety standards, therefore creating the need for government regulation.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Maine hunter dies in ATV rollover

Janelle Grant’s husband, Barry, said that his wife and son were part of a group of off-roaders venturing to Bible Point State Historic Site in Northeastern Maine. Barry Grant said he and a friend visiting from New York, another woman, and two other children were among the three other ATVs going to Bible Point, just south of Island Falls.

Barry Grant told the Bangor Daily News that the road they were following, an old logging trail that they were familiar with, had washed out unexpectedly in the middle and caught the drivers off-guard.

“We came right up over a hill and it was right in the middle of the road,” he told the Daily News, adding that the washout was difficult to avoid. Mr. Grant managed to stop and pulled over hoping that his wife, who was following in another ATV, would see him pulled over and also stop.

Instead, Janelle’s ATV hit the washout and rolled over. The victims were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor by a LifeFlight helicopter.

Maine Warden Service Sgt. Tom Ward said that the accident is under investigation. A spokeswoman for Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife told the Daily News that recent heavy rain had washed out the road, which is seldom used.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Mother and son recovering after ATV rollover in Maine