CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Austin Valladares
603-788-3164
August 29, 2023
Success, NH – On Monday, August 28, 2023, at approximately 8:00 a.m., NH State Police Troop F Dispatch advised a NH Fish and Game Conservation Officer of a hiker who had suffered a knee injury on the Appalachian Trail and was unable to walk. The 57-year-old female was identified as Maria Whyte of Jarrettesville, MD. Whyte informed rescuers that she had missed a step on a bog bridge the day prior and injured her knee. Whyte and her hiking partner were able to make it to the Gentian Pond Hut where they planned to spend the night and call for assistance the following morning.
At around 11:30 a.m., members from the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team along with Conservation Officers assembled at the Austin Brook Trailhead in Shelburne. Rescuers were able to utilize All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s) to get to within approximately one mile of the patient. Rescuers reached Whyte at 12:57 p.m. Whyte was placed in a litter and carried one mile back to the location of the ATV’s from where she was transported by a Conservation Officer the remaining distance back to the Austin Brook Trailhead. Whyte was then transported by Gorham Ambulance to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin to be evaluated for her injuries. Whyte and her hiking partner were through hiking from Crawford Notch. Both hikers were well equipped and had the necessary gear for their journey.