Tom Fendler, Brother of Rye Boy Famously Lost in the Maine Woods, Passes

Tom Fendler, whose brother Donn was famously survived nine days in the Maine wilderness as a 12 year old child in 1939, passed away on Saturday, May 10th. The story of his brother Donn is Rye lore, and made national headlines at the time. It was featured in the film Lost on a Mountain in Maine. The film was just released into theaters last fall and on streaming services this January.

Then 96-year-old Tom Fendler, who lived in Rye, told MyRye.com staff writer Tucker Sith last summer that he remembered Donn’s disappearance “as if it was yesterday, not 85 years ago.”

“My father took me, my twin brothers Donn and Ryan, and two teenage family friends for a hike. What started out as a fun summer day turned into a nightmare. I was eleven at the time and terrified that Donn had perished somewhere in that rugged terrain. You can’t imagine the rough footing on the trails and the dense vegetation. How he survived those conditions alone for nine days is really a miracle.

“It was about two weeks after he was found that I was able to see him. He had been in the hospital. Ryan and I had been staying with family friends while our parents dealt with the search for Donn. I couldn’t believe how skinny Donn was and how badly his feet were injured from losing his sneakers after the first day of being lost. Most of the bug bites had healed by then, though. All I know is that it was great to have him back with us again. Amazingly, Donn’s story is known by generations of people, especially in Maine, and is woven into the fabric of my extended family. It’s wonderful that Ryan Cook was so captured by the story that he and his friend persevered for ten years to bring it to the screen.”