CONCORD, NH — A hiker from Boston died sometime during the weekend, possibly due to getting caught in a snowstorm in Franconia Notch, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Around 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, conservation officers received a report of an overdue hiker in the notch from the family of Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, Massachusetts. The family last heard from him on Saturday afternoon. Wood drove up to Lafayette Campground in Lincoln on Friday and planned to camp and hike the area during the weekend.
Wood, according to Lt. Christopher McKee of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, “started hiking on Saturday morning, with warm temperatures and clear skies.” After not hearing from him for two days, the family became concerned and contacted Fish and Game on Tuesday morning.
“While gathering information on where to search, rescuers learned that the Wood was prepared for warmer conditions and not the 3 to 5 inches of snow that had fallen between Sunday and Monday in the Franconia Notch area,” McKee said. “A search effort was started on Tuesday morning to locate him.”
Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard Helicopter Team were deployed, searching the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond area. Around 7:45 p.m., conservation officers found Wood deceased around 5.5 miles from his vehicle in a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail. He was then carried out to the trailhead by the rescue team.
“New Hampshire Fish and Game would like to remind hikers that it is still winter in the mountains with deep snow, precipitation, and freezing temperatures,” McKee said.
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