CONTACT:
Lieutenant Mark Ober
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
July 29, 2026
Sargent’s Purchase, NH – On Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at approximately 1:30 p.m., NH Fish and Game was notified of an injured hiker on the Lion Head Trail in Sargent’s Purchase. The caller reported that a female hiker had suffered a severe lower leg injury preventing her from walking out. The hiker was identified as Jade Dubois, 19, of Saint-Christophe-d’Arthabaska, Quebec.
The injury occurred approximately ¼ mile above the Hermit Lake Shelter. A rescue was initated and Conservation Officers and volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR) responded. Prior to the arrival of the rescue crew, a group of Good Samaritan hikers, who came upon Dubois, took a rescue litter from a stash at the Hermit Lake Shelter and volunteered to carry her down the trail to the shelter. While they were doing this, Conservation Officers were utilizing ATVs to drive up the Sherburne Ski Trail.
Once at the shelter, Dubois was fitted with a vacuum splint and the litter was secured to an ATV and slowly driven down the trail. AVSAR members had hiked up the Sherburne and were available for support on some of the steeper sections of the descent. While at the Hermit Lake Shelter, a report of another injured hiker came in, and a separate CO with another ATV worked on getting that victim to his ATV for transport out.
At 5:25 p.m., the rescue crew made it to Pinkham Notch Visitor Center where Dubois was transferred to the Gorham ambulance. Although a potentially serious injury, Dubois refused transport to a local hospital and instead chose to seek her own medical care.