CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Sgt. Glen Lucas
603-788-4850 603-271-3361
July 29, 2019
Thompson and Meserves Purchase, NH – At approximately 9:17 p.m. on Friday July 26, a call was received that a hiker had been separated from their hiking party and overdue.
24 year old Jiayi Chen, of Los Angeles, CA, was hiking with a group when he began to lag behind. The group he was with was hiking from Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Jefferson Notch via Caps Ridge Trail. After Chen fell behind, he took a wrong turn when he got to the summit of Mt. Jefferson. His group went down the Caps Ridge Trail while he went down Six Husbands Trail into the Great Gulf Wilderness and onto the Great Gulf Trail.
When Conservation Officer Sgt. Glen Lucas received the call, he decided to give Chen time to attempt to hike out. Sgt. Lucas noted that it is common when calls like this are received to give the hiker additional time to avoid a potentially costly search and rescue response.
Sgt. Lucas then received a second at 11:00 p.m. stating that Chen had not arrived at the Great Gulf trailhead. With this new information, a Conservation Officer responded to the trailhead, hiked in, and located Chen approximately 75 feet off the trail at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 27.
At 4:15 a.m. Chen was brought out of the woods and back to the trailhead where his group was waiting for him. Chen had hiked on the Great Gulf Trail for a while but was unable to continue due to the onset of darkness.
All hikers should carry essential equipment, including a flashlight, to be ready for not just the intended hike, but for other issues that could arise. Please visit www.hikesafe.com for more information.