CONTACT:
Lieutenant Mark Ober
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
September 6, 2022
Kilkenny, NH – On Sunday at approximately 3:00 p.m., NH Fish and Game Conservation Officers were notified of a hiker suffering from an unknown medical condition on the Bunnell Notch Trail in Kilkenny. The 39-year-old female hiker had been descending after summiting Mt. Cabot with her fiancé when she started experiencing a serious medical condition. Her fiancé called 911 requesting assistance. Members of Berlin Fire Department and Berlin EMS responded directly to the trailhead and started hiking in. Fish and Game called out members of Androscoggin Valley Search & Rescue (AVSAR) for assistance.
After the initial call, the hiker’s condition worsened. Due to the serious nature of the incident and the distance from the trailhead, 2 ½ miles, a call was placed to the Army National Guard requesting an emergency helicopter evacuation. During the time the flight crew was being assembled, the hiker’s condition deteriorated to the point that her fiancé and other hikers who came upon the scene started performing CPR.
The Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter flew up from Concord, arriving over the patient at 5:36 p.m. They were able to successfully lower a medic and litter onto the trail through an opening in the trees. The patient was packaged in the litter and hoisted back into the helicopter at approximately 6:08 p.m.
Unfortunately, after all the lifesaving efforts performed by the victim’s fiancé, Good Samaritan hikers, and rescue personnel, the hiker did not survive. The body was flown to the Berlin Regional Airport in Milan where it was transferred to a local funeral home.
The name of the hiker is being withheld pending notification of family members.
No other information available at this time.