Search Scaled Back For N.J. Hiker Missing In New Hampshire

CONWAY, NH — After an intensive search over the weekend and into Monday turned up no new leads, New Hampshire authorities have scaled back the search for an attorney from Brick Township, NJ, who went missing while hiking in the White Mountain Forest.

Nicola Whitley with the public affairs office at the New Hampshire Division of Fish and Game said officials from the law enforcement arm scaled back their search efforts for Gregory Auriemma.

"We are asking the public for any information available from hikers who were in the same area and may have met up with Mr. Auriemma to please call 603-271-3361," Whitley said Wednesday.

Auriemma, 63, of Brick, left Conway, New Hampshire, June 24 for a 30-mile, 10-day hike in the White Mountain Forest, authorities and his brother have said. He was reported missing last week when he had not returned to Conway, where he had been due back on July 5, authorities said. His brother told NJ101.5 that his brother was hiking without his cellphone.

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Searchers with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department have traced Auriemma's path to an abandoned campsite near the Dry River Trail. Auriemma's brother, Kenneth, told NJ101.5 on Monday that his brother had hiked the White Mountains dozens of times. Kenneth Auriemma also said a woman hiking in the area on July 14 noticed Auriemma's campsite along a trail near the Dry River had not been touched since she first saw it a week earlier, and his pill bottles were found in the tent.

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Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the New Jersey group had been in touch with the New Hampshire Sierra Club seeking help in searching for Auriemma.

"He is a big advocate for the oceans and marine issues as well as an avid hiker," Tittel said, calling Auriemma a "very trusted friend and adviser."
"I consider him a friend, ally, and confidant," Tittel said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Greg and his family. We hope he will be found safe and soon."

Gregory Auriemma, packing for his hike. Photo provided by New Hampshire Division of Fish and Game