Hiker Found Deceased on Gulfside Trail

CONTACT:
Lieutenant Mark Ober
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
August 23, 2024

Thompson & Meserves Purchase, NH – On Thursday, August 22, at approximately 8:30 a.m., a hiker found the body of an adult male on the Gulfside Trail near the junction of West Side Trail, .5 miles below the summit. Being approximately 425 feet north of the Cog Railway tracks, Fish and Game requested and received assistance from the Cog Railway who offered one of their trains along with personnel to assist with the body’s recovery. Officials from Fish and Game, NH State Police, and Twin Mountain Fire Department, along with an ADME, responded to this call.

The recovery team was taken up in a train and hiked to the scene with a litter. The body was placed in the litter, carried back to the train, and transported down to the Base Station. The body was then relayed to the State Medical Examiners Officer in Concord for autopsy.

The hiker, whose name is being withheld pending family notification, was a 72-year-old male from Virginia according to a driver’s license found on the body. It appears that the hiker likely succumbed to environmental exposure, but the exact cause of death is pending.

Little else is known about the hiker. He was dressed in jeans, had on a navy blue raincoat, and was wearing brown hiking boots and a small blue backpack. He was not prepared for the conditions that were, and are still currently present, in the higher summits of the White Mountains. It is likely that he took the train up to the summit on Wednesday, August 21, and then attempted the hike back down.

New Hampshire Fish and Game is asking anyone who may have come into contact with a hiker matching his description yesterday to contact State Police Troop F at (603) 846-3333, or email Lieutenant Mark Ober at mark.w.oberjr@wildlife.nh.gov.

As a reminder, the weather conditions at summit elevations remain cold, wet, and windy. These are prime conditions for hypothermia and other weather-related injuries. Be sure to check the forecast provided by the Mount Washington Observatory before venturing out.