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Friday, July 29, 2005
Cell phone aids hiker on Mount Major
By GEOFF CUNNINGHAM Jr. Staff Writer, Laconia Citizen
ALTON — A cell phone was instrumental in the rescue of a 71-year-old Virginia man who became lost on Mount Major on Thursday.
Alton Fire Chief Alan Johnson said John Duncan, 71, of Falls Church, Va. was uninjured and in good health when he was found shortly before 5:30 p.m.
The chief said Duncan missed the connection of the red and green trails and found himself lost in the woods on the side of the mountain. He had fallen back from three other hikers with whom he was climbing when he realized he might need help.
Johnson said Duncan used his cell phone to call 911 at approximately 3 p.m. After he explained his situation to dispatchers at the Belknap County Sherriff's Department, local emergency responders from Alton and Gilford were toned out to the parking area to look for him. Fish and Game officers also responded.
Authorities kept in contact with Duncan by calling him on his cell phone and repeatedly asking him what he could see. Johnson said emergency crews realized he was on the east side of the mountain because he said he could see Lake Winnipesaukee.
Crews from Alton and Gilford went up different trails and a crew eventually found him approximately 90 minutes after they had established contact with him. Johnson said he was found relatively high on a mountain that is known as a popular recreation area.
"He was in good health. We gave him some water and drove him off the mountain in our forestry truck," said Johnson.
The chief said Duncan's fellow hikers realized he was lost and went back to get him. He said they later came back to the parking lot.
Cell phone aids hiker on Mount Major
By GEOFF CUNNINGHAM Jr. Staff Writer, Laconia Citizen
ALTON — A cell phone was instrumental in the rescue of a 71-year-old Virginia man who became lost on Mount Major on Thursday.
Alton Fire Chief Alan Johnson said John Duncan, 71, of Falls Church, Va. was uninjured and in good health when he was found shortly before 5:30 p.m.
The chief said Duncan missed the connection of the red and green trails and found himself lost in the woods on the side of the mountain. He had fallen back from three other hikers with whom he was climbing when he realized he might need help.
Johnson said Duncan used his cell phone to call 911 at approximately 3 p.m. After he explained his situation to dispatchers at the Belknap County Sherriff's Department, local emergency responders from Alton and Gilford were toned out to the parking area to look for him. Fish and Game officers also responded.
Authorities kept in contact with Duncan by calling him on his cell phone and repeatedly asking him what he could see. Johnson said emergency crews realized he was on the east side of the mountain because he said he could see Lake Winnipesaukee.
Crews from Alton and Gilford went up different trails and a crew eventually found him approximately 90 minutes after they had established contact with him. Johnson said he was found relatively high on a mountain that is known as a popular recreation area.
"He was in good health. We gave him some water and drove him off the mountain in our forestry truck," said Johnson.
The chief said Duncan's fellow hikers realized he was lost and went back to get him. He said they later came back to the parking lot.