The bodies of two hikers who apparently fell roughly 100 feet in Maine’s Acadia National Park were found in the park yesterday.
According to officials with Acadia National Park, the two hikers appear to have fallen about 100 feet along ice covered cliff bands on Dorr Mountain. Their bodies were recovered on Saturday, March 20 by National Park Service rangers working with volunteers from Mount Desert Island Search and Rescue (MDISAR) and a helicopter from the Maine Forest Service. NPS rangers and Maine State Police are investigating, with the assistance of Bar Harbor Police Department.
A search was initiated on Friday evening after family members reported the couple overdue.
The man, 28, and woman, 30, both of Rutland, Massachusetts, had arrived in Bar Harbor on Tuesday. They were last heard from Thursday around noon. The woman discussed being interested in hiking Cadillac Mountain during a cell phone conversation with family members. Concerns arose on Friday afternoon when they did not check out of their hotel as scheduled or return to their vehicle.
The search overnight involved a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from Cape Cod equipped with thermal imaging technology which searched for heat signatures on the north and east sides of Dorr and Cadillac Mountains without success. A ground search began Saturday morning in areas of high probability including 15 volunteers and additional park staff.
Searchers on foot discovered the bodies late Saturday morning.