Two stranded snowmobilers who spent an unexpected night outdoors in subzero temperatures were found safe Monday after their machines got stuck during a Christmas Day run near Penobscot Pond in northern Maine, authorities said. 
 
 A third snowmobiler went for help, but she ran out of gas and wound up spending the night in a stranger’s cabin, according to Cpl. John MacDonald, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service. 
 
 The warden service launched an “intense search” to find the three women after getting a call they were missing about 2:30 a.m. Monday, MacDonald said in a news release. 
 
 “This incident was very dangerous and could have turned out much worse,” MacDonald said. 
 
 The weather and the thin ice and open water in the area were “of high concern” to the game wardens who launched the overnight search, which included more than a dozen wardens and two planes. 
 
 Dorothy Gould of Glenburn, Valerie Morrow of Garland and Alice Meadow of Texas were staying at a camp on Smith Pond, west of Millinocket in Township T3-Indian Purchase. They were snowmobiling toward Kokadjo when two snowmobiles got stuck near Penobscot Pond in T1R11 between Millinocket and Kokadjo. 
 
 Gould, 62, went to get help but got lost and ran out of gas at the north end of Baxter State Park near Nesowadnehunk Field Campground. 
 
 She managed to enter a cabin and make a fire, spending the night. 
 
 In the morning, some snowmobilers gave her gas and she followed them back toward Millinocket, where she met game wardens about noon. 
 
 Game wardens had already found Meadow and Morrow, both in their 50s, beside the snowmobile trail and taken them to Kokadjo, “as they were cold and hungry from spending a night outdoors,” MacDonald said. 
 
 He said the women didn’t have extra gas or emergency supplies. 
 
 “It is critical to be prepared for an unexpected stay in the woods and those who snowmobile are reminded to bring a communication device, area trail maps and a means to start a fire,” MacDonald said in the news release. 
 
 “Please use good judgment and common sense and be prepared when snowmobiling, especially in remote areas of Maine.” 
 
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 MILLINOCKET, Maine — Three women who became separated while snowmobiling in Piscataquis County on Sunday night were found safe after an overnight search that Maine Warden Service officials described as “intense.” 
 
 The women — Dorothy Gould, 62, of Glenburn, Valerie Morrow of Garland and Alice Meadow of Texas — had been staying together at a camp on Smith Pond, west of Millinocket in Township T3 – Indian Purchase, Cpl. John MacDonald, public information officer for the warden service, wrote in a news release issued Monday afternoon. He said the trio had gone snowmobiling on Sunday evening and were headed toward Kokadjo when they became stuck near Penobscot Pond between Millinocket and Kokadjo. 
 
 “Dorothy Gould left her two friends on snowmobile to find help when she became lost,” MacDonald stated. “Gould made her way to the north end of Baxter State Park where she ran out of gas near Nesowadnehunk Field Campground.” 
 
 Game wardens began gathering about 2:30 a.m. Monday to launch an extensive search. More than a dozen game wardens and two warden service aircraft were involved, he wrote. 
 
 Wardens found Meadow and Morrow stranded beside the snowmobile trail on Monday morning, MacDonald said. They were cold and hungry from spending the night outdoors and wardens took them to Kokadjo for help. 
 
 Wardens learned later that Gould had found a cabin near Nesowadnehunk Field where she made a fire and took shelter for the rest of the night. On Monday morning, she reportedly found snowmobilers who were traveling in the area who gave her extra gasoline and she followed the group back to Millinocket, where she met game wardens around noon. 
 
 “The Maine Warden Service recognizes that this incident was very dangerous and could have turned out much worse,” MacDonald said. “With temperatures last evening below zero and some thin ice in the area, game wardens were very concerned for the women’s safety.”
– Three snowmobilers survived Christmas night outside in below zero temperatures without emergency supplies in a scenario a Maine Warden Service rep notes "could have turned out much worse." Dorothy Gould, Valerie Morrow, and Alice Meadow—who'd been camping near Millinocket, Maine—were snowmobiling toward Kokadjo on Sunday evening when two of their snowmobiles got stuck, Cpl. John MacDonald says, per the Portland Press Herald. Gould, 62, then went in search of help but became lost and ran out of gas. An "intense search" involving 12 game wardens and two aircraft was launched after the women were reported missing around 2:30am Monday. Morrow and Meadow, both in their 50s, were later found "cold and hungry" but safe on a trail. Meanwhile, wardens grew increasingly concerned about Gould, particularly as there was open water and thin ice in the area. Gould, however, ended up near a campground in Baxter State Park, more than 40 miles from camp, where she was able to get into a cabin and build a fire. She stayed the night before encountering snowmobilers who gave her gas on Monday morning and met up with game wardens in Millinocket around noon, reports the Bangor Daily News. While the three women are lucky to have survived this "very dangerous" incident, "it is critical to be prepared for an unexpected stay in the woods and those who snowmobile are reminded to bring a communication device, area trail maps, and a means to start a fire," MacDonald says.