Donn Fendler became famous across the United States after surviving a terrifying nine days lost in the wilderness with no supplies when he was only 12 years old. Years later, Fendler co-authored the book “Lost on a Mountain in Maine,” which was required read for Maine schoolchildren for decades.
Until his death in 2016, Fendler told spoke to crowds of kids, inspiring generations with his story of survival.
A Terrifying Journey
Fendler’s survival journey all started at Mt. Katahdin in Maine. He was hiking with his family in the summer of 1939, when he went ahead, but when he turned back to find his father and two brothers, he couldn’t find then. A storm rolled in and brought thick, dense fog with it. He took a few wrong turns, then suddenly he realized he had ventured off the Katahdin Hunt trail.Without any supplies besides the clothes on his back, Fendler frantically searched through the storm for his family. As he traversed through the dense woods to try to find a trail, he fell down a steep hill that bruised him up.
Meanwhile back in town, Fendler’s family had made it off the trail and set out searching the mountain for him. After a couple of days, a search party with over 300 people searched the wilderness for Fendler. Newspapers across the country wrote about the search and mothers from all over the United States sent Fendler’s family prayers via Western Union telegrams. They hoped and prayed for Fendler’s safe return.
However, one day during the search, rescuers found tracks that looked like they went off the side of a cliff. Hope of finding Fendler alive was quickly dwindling.
“His father and uncles joined the searchers every day while his mother and her best friend stayed as guests of Camp Natarswi, a Girl Scout camp on Togue Pond. Hopes waned as days went by. The girls were not allowed to sing ‘Taps’ at the end of the campfire each night because ’all was not well,'” according to the Millinocket Historical Society.
Fendler stayed as strong as he could by scavenging the terrain, all while getting ravaged by insects. He survived by eating wild berries and on at least one occasion, Fendler came across two black bears in a berry bush. Luckily, the animals left him alone.
During Fendler’s journey, he ran into an abandoned cabin and found an empty potato sack to keep him warm. He never found any food.
A Turn for the Better
After being missing for nine days, Fendler eventually followed the stream to a cabin next to a lake where a couple was staying. This location, say some sources, was over 35 miles from where he got lost, in others the figure was about 48 miles. In any case, in a little over a week, this 12-year-old boy had roamed a great distance without food, clean water, or adequate clothing. As soon as Nelson and Lena McMoarn laid eyes on Fendler, they knew he was the missing boy.
By that point, Fendler had lost 16 pounds. He was scratched, bruised, and riddled with insect bites. After Fendler was reunited with his family, his story made the front page of the July 26, 1939 edition of The New York Times. The following year, Fendler was invited to the White House, where President Franklin Roosevelt awarded him with the Army and Navy Legion of Valor medal.
Fendler’s journey taught him resilience that he used later in life to train as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army. During his military career, Fendler fought in World War II and Vietnam. The book he wrote about his survival was made into a movie that hit theaters in November 2024, nearly a decade after his death at age 90.
