It turned out to be a very expensive moose hunting season for a man from the Tracadie area.

Jean-Marie Doiron, 59, of Leech lost his black 2015 Dodge Ram pickup truck on a logging road somewhere in the woods south of Bathurst.

The truck alone is estimated to be worth $50,000 to $60,000.

Doiron said he paid less than that, but the vehicle is worth much more to him.

"It's a really special truck," he said in French.

It has an adjustable lift kit and it was loaded with tools, a generator and his new cellphone.

Tried to turn around

Doiron said he and the other members of his hunting party were somewhere in the woods between the old Heath Steele and Brunswick mines on Sept. 26, when he decided to head home on his own.

He was driving down a dirt road when he tried to turn the truck around. Its front end went into a hole and the tires started spinning. That triggered the braking system and Doiron got stuck.

He said he stayed there for a while, had "two or three" beers and started walking toward an area where he thought he'd find camps or another hunter to give him a lift.

At some point it started raining hard.

Hitched a ride

Doiron was picked up after about 90 minutes by a man in his 30s in a small car, who said he was headed toward Bathurst but agreed to make a detour to drop Doiron off in Allardville.

The next day Doiron went back to get his vehicle, but he couldn't find it.

He contacted the man who'd given him a ride to try to get better directions.

But more than a week and a $500 helicopter flight later, he still hasn't been able to locate his vehicle.

"We saw moose" said Doiron. "We saw bears. That means we would have seen my truck."

People who want to help Jean-Marie Doiron look for his missing truck are meeting at Nine Mile East Saturday at 9 a.m. (Sonia Ferguson/Facebook)

Steven Ferguson of Sheila is one of several people who've been helping Doiron search for the truck.

He has a camp at Austin Brook and has been scouring the vast network of logging roads in the area.

"We did 250 kilometres the first day and another 150 kilometres the day before yesterday, and we're going back tomorrow afternoon," said Ferguson, speaking in French.

"I'm bringing the four-wheeler. It will be easier."

Another man from the Tracadie area used his drone to look around, said Doiron.

Weak cellphone signal

And Doiron inquired about trying to pinpoint the truck's location using the position of his cellphone, which was in the vehicle when he left it, but the signal was too weak, he said.

"I've pretty much tried everything I could. Nothing is giving me hope. It's starting to get discouraging.

"I'm praying, but the longer it goes, the more I start to doubt."

The Bathurst detachment of the RCMP confirmed it is investigating the incident.

"He deserves to find his truck," said Ferguson.

"He doesn't know the area. I'd want someone to do the same for me."

Ferguson said anyone who wants to help search can contact him or meet at Nine Mile East on Saturday at 9 a.m.