I was a ranger with the National Park Service in the Everglades area from mid 70's til mid 80's. A hunter in his 70's did not return to camp Sunday nite from his deer stand. We started searching for him Monday morning. A helicopter found him dead around noon on Tuesday. He had taken all his clothes off, a sure sign of hypothermia. The autopsy said he'd been dead about 24 hours when he was found. It was October in South Florida; the temp at nite was in the mid 60's and quite warm during the day. The water was never over knee deep. Other than age he had no medical problems. Strangely, it turned out this wasn't unusual. Most people will give up and die in less than 2 days when lost, disoriented, and discouraged.
