CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Lieutenant James Kneeland
603-744-5470
June 19, 2020
Franconia, NH – On Thursday, June 18 at 9:45 a.m., NH Fish and Game Conservation Officers were notified of a hiker suffering a medical emergency 3.2 miles up the Garfield Trail in Franconia. Passing hikers contacted 911 and were instructed to start CPR. The unidentified man had apparently been hiking solo and no one witnessed what occurred. Conservation Officers and volunteers with the Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team responded to the trail. Rescuers were able to get within a mile of the incident by ATV and arrived at the scene at 11:30 a.m. Upon the arrival of rescuers, CPR ceased and it was determined that the hiker was deceased. The team of rescuers, including the good Samaritan hikers, carried the man a little over a mile to the ATVs and then were able to transport him to Gale River Road where they arrived shortly before 2:30 p.m. The man was then transported to Concord for an autopsy that will be done June 19 by the NH Medical Examiner.
Authorities were able to identify the man from information located in his pack. With this information they were able to locate his vehicle in the crowded trailhead parking lot. The hiker had left a detailed itinerary with emergency contact information on his dashboard. The 57-year-old Minnesota man was visiting family in New Hampshire. The identity is being withheld at this time pending notification of all immediate family members.