NH Fish And Game Seeking Help With Missing Hiker

[sierra]

Seriously. I hate getting into pissing matches on FB but I had to respond to someone's comment about why would a parent leave their child underprepared in those conditions. I simply stated that if she, the hiker, wasn't knowledgeable enough to know she was ill prepared for that hike on that day, her parents most likely would not have known either. Won't go back to see how many asshat"s will have something negative to say about that.

I grew up camping in the Whites with my family, that's all we did. By the time I was 15 years old, my mother would drive me to trailheads, and I would point out other trailheads and say, pick me up here in 3 days. She would always be waiting for me with a lunch. She knew nothing about hiking exept that's what I wanted to do. So, the scenario so many question, seems perfectly plausible to me.

[maineguy]

A trip report from Sunday:

https://www.newenglandtrailcondition...?entryid=63172

[maineguy]

While some hikers miss the junction of Greenleaf and FRT atop Lafayette, it is usually when heading north and failing to turn left for the hut. I've never heard of anyone ever ascending Lafayette from the hut and turning left on the GRT when they want to head over to Lincoln, etc.

[DayTrip]

While some hikers miss the junction of Greenleaf and FRT atop Lafayette, it is usually when heading north and failing to turn left for the hut. I've never heard of anyone ever ascending Lafayette from the hut and turning left on the GRT when they want to head over to Lincoln, etc.

Yes that is generally the error in that spot. She could well have been hypothermic or disoriented however after wandering around the summit and just started following cairns in the wrong direction.

[iAmKrzys]

There is a lot of speculation at this point and not a lot of hard facts, and when statements are made about her equipment it is hard to assess how credible they are. One thing for sure, cold nights without warm cloths and a decent sleeping bag can be pretty rough, to put it nicely.

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

I'm not on any FB groups other than the SAR ones. I was referring more to the actual SAR Facebook posts, not the comments by members. They really haven't shared anything. I didn't spend too much time in the actual member comments, which I generally find useless and rapidly annoy me. Those FB comments are just huge amounts of "thoughts and prayers" and "thanks for all you do" stuff with a sprinkling of "hiking alone is stupid and dangerous" and the obligatory retorts. Anyway....
day.

Volunteer SAR team members are not supposed to speak to the media or post anything on social media. All SAR information released to the public is supposed to come only through NH F&G.

[DayTrip]

Volunteer SAR team members are not supposed to speak to the media or post anything on social media. All SAR information released to the public is supposed to come only through NH F&G.

The AVSAR and PVSAR groups definitely post details. I assume it is the same high level stuff shared with NH F&G and their posts are no doubt done by an organizational head or authorized public relations person. The comments in their posts are definitely from the general public, not members, but the "group" does respond to certain comments. Much like the police, I'm sure they only share information that is helpful to their efforts and doesn't create problems that would hinder a rescue.

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

The AVSAR and PVSAR groups definitely post details. I assume it is the same high level stuff shared with NH F&G and their posts are no doubt done by an organizational head or authorized public relations person. The comments in their posts are definitely from the general public, not members, but the "group" does respond to certain comments. Much like the police, I'm sure they only share information that is helpful to their efforts and doesn't create problems that would hinder a rescue.

I cannot read my SAR team’s FB page, as I do not have a FB account, but I have been told that our team’s FB page manager does not post anything that has not already been cleared through NH F&G.

[DayTrip]

I cannot read my SAR team’s FB page, as I do not have a FB account, but I have been told that our team’s FB page manager does not post anything that has not already been cleared through NH F&G.

That makes sense. The information on the FB groups and the NH F&G pages is pretty consistent. I follow all of these groups on Facebook.

[Andrew]

Seriously. I hate getting into pissing matches on FB but I had to respond to someone's comment about why would a parent leave their child underprepared in those conditions. I simply stated that if she, the hiker, wasn't knowledgeable enough to know she was ill prepared for that hike on that day, her parents most likely would not have known either. Won't go back to see how many asshat"s will have something negative to say about that.

So True. Can't help what you don't know.

Discussing with my wife, she had the point of wouldn't she need a headlamp when starting out at 5 am, but reports have said she had no lights. The light really does not gather here right now until right around 6. If she was dropped off at 5 am, then her and Mom would have started from home at 2 or 3 am? Wondering if that detail got confused in reports and they started from home at 5am?

I used to take great care in communicating details to the press when I did that at Monadnock, pretty much every story was printed with some flaw in the details.

[JustJoe]

If she was dropped off at 5 am, then her and Mom would have started from home at 2 or 3 am? Wondering if that detail got confused in reports and they started from home at 5am?

A few more details have come out. She was staying in an are hotel/motel with her mom for this week. People have suggested do to lack of calls for help, that she didn't have a cell phone. But apparently that's not the case, she did have one. Possibly used it as a light source (speculation) at he start of her hike. And in the cold temps, could have drained it significantly enough not to allow for calls once in trouble. Again, just one of a hundred possibilities of what happened.

[ChrisB]

A few more details have come out. She was staying in an are hotel/motel with her mom for this week...

She seems like a great kid. I surmise she and mom were up north for the week so she could finish the 4Ks before her 20th birthday later this week. (That also explains the inclusion of Flume in her hike plan.)

Makes it all the more tragic.

May she be found soon…

[Nessmuk]

And so it repeats..... whether true in this specific incident case or not.... I can't tell. you how many NY Adirondack search rescue reports I have read where after being found (if they are lucky) the subject says: "but my phone doubles as a flashlight". Right. It also doubles as a dead battery when you might need it even more.

[iAmKrzys]

To add a glimmer of hope here, I recall two cases of lost skiers in recent history:

1. In early 2004 Dan Witkowski, a lost skier in Cascade Mountains, survived 4 nights in frigid temperatures before being found.
2. In 2018 (perhaps late 2017) a firefighter from Toronto, Danny Filippidis, went missing I believe while skiing on Whitheface Mountain only to be found in Sacramento, California after some time.

You can google both of these cases to get more details.

[TEO]

A few more details have come out. She was staying in an are hotel/motel with her mom for this week.

Was WMUR your source?

Curiously I don't see any coverage on the Concord Monitor or the Laconia Daily Sun.