Missing visitor rescued along river near Paw Paw Tunnel

A 76-year-old area visitor was found safe along the Potomac River after he went missing last Friday afternoon near the Paw Paw Tunnel. The man was rescued Friday evening by area police and fire and rescue units.

Dr. Sumer Pek had walked through the tunnel with his wife Mickey and grandson. He told his wife that he would walk back along the river instead of returning through the tunnel with them and that he would meet them in the parking lot.

When Pek didn’t show up after some time, a couple who was hiking the canal with their daughter drove to Paw Paw and called 911 for his wife.
They also contacted the Peks’ long-time friends Dr. Bill Lands and his wife Norberta Schoene, whom they were visiting. Lands and his wife rushed to the scene.

Harry Copen, Allegany County 911 dispatcher, said they first received a page around 5 p.m. that a 76-year-old male was missing near the tunnel who had last been seen around 12:30 p.m. They got another page at 6 p.m. that the man had been located by helicopter by Maryland State Police Trooper 5.
The Bowling Green Fire Department Water Rescue Team was dispatched, but the water was too shallow for a boat rescue, Copen said.

Town of Paw Paw Police Chief Chris Carroll and the Paw Paw Rescue Squad helped Pek walk across the river from the Maryland side to the West Virginia side, said Brad Clawson, Chief Ranger with the C & O Canal National Park Service.

The Oldtown and Paw Paw Volunteer Fire Companies and National Park Service police also assisted in the search and rescue.

What Pek didn’t realize when he began walking back along the river instead of the tunnel was that it made his hike five to seven miles longer, Copen said.

Lands said Pek had no idea how long and windy the river was in that section. Pek eventually became unable to walk due to severe leg cramps from his electrolytes going out of balance, Lands said. Pek didn’t have a hat or any water with him, he said.

Pek then climbed out on a tree hoping to be rescued because the bushes behind him blocked any sight of him from the trail, he said.

Pek is a doctor of internal medicine and Professor Emeritus of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Lands said.

Pek had no injuries and was checked out by emergency personnel after his rescue. Lands said Pek drank lots of electrolyte-restoring liquids after his adventure and was fine.