An Iowa State employee who had been missing since Wednesday died Sunday afternoon, only hours after being discovered in rural Boone County.

Richard Wayne Moore, 50, 4214 Stonebrook Road, was found in a wooded area one-half mile west of V Avenue in Boone County, about four miles east of the city of Boone. Moore was the supervisor of ISU’s Horticulture Station on 170th Street in rural Story County.

Moore apparently had been attempting to set up a deer stand on Wednesday afternoon and fell nearly 20 feet, injuring his legs, said Boone County Deputy Brian Pontius.

He was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines via airlift and arrived at the hospital a little before 11 a.m., said Gregg Lagan, Mercy spokesman.

Moore was pronounced dead by hospital staff at 2:48 p.m., Lagan said. The extent of the injuries sustained by Moore was undisclosed.

Lagan said the cause of death will be determined by the Polk County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Family friend Diane Green said those close to Moore were surprised by his death.

“We were really encouraged that he was going to make it,” she said.

Green said Moore was an avid hunter, and he had driven back into the timber area to scout out some hunting ground. She said to her knowledge, Moore had not told anyone he was planning to go out in the woods.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office received a call at about 7:50 a.m. Sunday from the Gary Polking residence, 525 V. Ave. Polking’s wife reported that she heard what she thought to be calls for help coming from a forest area near her house.

Pontius responded to the call. When he arrived at the Polking residence, he said he heard the cries for help and called the Boone County Rescue Squad.

After locating Moore, Pontius said it was difficult to get him to an area where the airlift helicopter could land.

“It was probably about 20 minutes from the time we found him to the time he took off in the helicopter,” he said.

Pontius said Moore appeared to be in good spirits and was very grateful that someone had finally heard his cries for help.

“He was talking with us,” Pontius said. “He was extremely happy that he was found and that somebody had heard him calling for help.”

Moore also told Pontius and other rescuers about what he had gone through while being stranded alone in the woods for more than 80 hours.

“He said that he had been yelling off and on,” Pontius said. “He was trying to keep a journal of was what happening to him, but after the first night, he said it became very hard to concentrate.”

Pontius said Moore asked them what day it was, and when informed it was Sunday he was shocked.

“When we told him it was Sunday, he really couldn’t believe he’d been out there that long,” he said.

Pontius said Moore appeared to have badly injured his legs and was completely immobile.

“He had either an injury to his hip or it was an upper-leg fracture,” he said. “He had crawled some from where he’d fallen, but just a few feet.”

Pontius said Polking, the Boone County Rescue Squad, the Iowa State Patrol and the Story City Rescue Squad all helped out with the rescue.

The disappearance of Moore had worried family and friends since Wednesday night, when he didn’t return home from work.

Ames Police declared him a missing person and registered him with the national registry of missing persons Thursday afternoon.

Various searches had been conducted, including Ames Police cars searching hotels and outlying areas of the city, two church-sponsored searches and fly-overs of Boone and Story County by Hap’s Air Service, 2508 Airport Drive.

In a statement released by Mercy, the Moore family expressed gratitude to those who helped search for Richard.

“We’d like to thank the people who helped search, brought meals and offered prayers.”

Green said no date had been set yet for funeral services for Moore.