Missing Hiker - Mt Washington Area

[peakbagger]

https://www.unionleader.com/news/sa...cle_21c22a3c-27a3-50bb-9ade-3f83a586c463.html

Odd one, no request for public's assistance in finding him.

 

[strider]

https://www.unionleader.com/news/sa...cle_21c22a3c-27a3-50bb-9ade-3f83a586c463.html

Odd one, no request for public's assistance in finding him.

Also a little surprising that they didn't include a description of him.

 

[peakbagger]

It is odd. This is the point where frequently family/friends step in and start an independent campaign to keep up visibility. It can sometime yield good results but occasionally it can hurt law enforcement efforts. Given the weather conditions it probably will not end well unless the individual was very well equipped.

 

[DayTrip]

Unless I missed it earlier too, another one with a fairly lengthy delay making it out to the public. I wonder if it is again a law enforcement situation and not strictly a lost hiker.

 

[CaptCaper]

Said he had mental conditions for years.

 

[nartreb]

Given the weather conditions it probably will not end well unless the individual was very well equipped.

New article says he bought a new coat, new boots, and two "ice picks" the same day he headed up the mountain solo. That's... better than not having a coat and boots, but it gives me no confidence that he knows how to use his equipment. Given the time elapsed, I'd say this one has already ended poorly. It's a matter of waiting for the snow to melt to find the proof.

 

[sierra]

He is probably off the beaten path, most of the routes out of Pinkham's see enough traffic to have spotted him. If he is up in the Raymond Cataract area, its really thick in there, he may never be found. Although lately, its become more popular to bushwhack it in the summer.

 

[peakbagger]

There was national guard helicopter in area this afternoon. Didnt look like a search but may have been a pickup.

 

[Salty]

I'll add to the oddities list: Why did it take 6 days (or even 5 if it was reported late) just to locate his vehicle?? At PNVC of all places.

 

[jniehof]

I'll add to the oddities list: Why did it take 6 days (or even 5 if it was reported late) just to locate his vehicle?? At PNVC of all places.

Not to make light of a serious situation, but I sometimes have a hard time locating my car at Pinkham!

 

[B the Hiker]

One summer we were hiking up to Zealand and met some rangers. Someone had stayed at the Highland Center, taken the shuttle to the Zealand parking lot, and was supposed to hike back. Never came back. A staffer had the sense of mind to go into the Highland Center's parking lot to see if his car was still there. It was, and there was a suicide note on the dashboard.

The ranger explained to us that they were conducting a "soft search," which means that they were covering the trails, but if the man went off into the woods, they weren't going to look for him.


Brian

 

[peakbagger]

This sure looks like news reporting by press release. Its pretty sad these days but there really are only a few full time news reporters actively working in the whites so unless its high enough profile event where statewide press gets involved there is no local news person with local contacts to do active journalism asking basic questions. The free advertising supported Berlin paper is a two days a week pretty much a one person news department with Edith Tucker helping out on occasion. The free Conway advertising supported paper has a slightly larger staff but tends to spend their time on the local school and town events except on rare occasions. Insight NH was somewhat high profile during Northern Pass but sticks towards the politics side. My guess is the local LEOs and S&R folks have gotten used to not being asked questions by the press most of the time and the result is the general public is not able to get a lot of details on events occurring in the region unless they blow up like a dramatic mountain rescue. The Caledonia Record was trying local coverage but the majority of their articles are behind a paywall and the leads seem to be designed mostly to get folks to pay for access.