Wareham first-responders rescued a 54-year-old man who fell into the Weweantic River while geocaching on Dec. 11, shortly before 9 p.m.

Wareham Police received a call from the man's wife at approximately 7:30 p.m. The women told police that her husband, whose identity was not released, was lost in the woods along the Weweantic, and that he was wet and cold after falling in the river, according to police.

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game where participants use a GPS to find things that are left at various coordinates by other geocachers.

The first-responders maintained sporadic contact with the man via cell phone while searching the area of Island Brook Drive and Candle Paper Lane, with specific attention to the banks of the Weweantic, police said.

After the man's GPS coordinates were obtained, the man was located with the help of the Wareham Police ATV unit and the K-9 unit, according to police.

Wareham firefighter John Kelley said that once the police located the man, the rescuers worked quickly to retrieve him so he didn't get hypothermia. Wareham Fire launched a rescue boat.

"We just had to find access to launch the boat, that was one of the toughest things. …The police department assisted with their ATVs to bring the boat down to the water," said Kelley. "It’s not like there was a road, it was just complete woods and brush."

The man told emergency personnel that he’d experienced cramping after falling into the river. He was treated at Tobey Hospital and released, police said.

Wareham EMS and the Harbormaster assisted in the rescue.