The Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Thursday revealed that one of the hikers who died on Katahdin last week likely died of blunt force injuries.
The bodies of Esther Keiderling, 28, and her father Tim Keiderling, 58, both of Ulster Park, New York, were found atop Katahdin last week.
The two hikers had reportedly left Abol Campground on Sunday, June 1, to hike to the summit of Katahdin. They were last seen at approximately 10:15 a.m. on the Katahdin Tablelands heading towards the summit.
On Tuesday, June 3, Baxter State Park officials announced they were closing the Abol and Hunt Trails to look for the missing hikers.
The body of Tim Keiderling was discovered that Tuesday afternoon. A Maine Warden Service K9 search team located his body on the Tablelands near the summit of Katahdin.
The body of Esther Keiderling was found the following afternoon between the Cathedral and Saddle Trails off the Tablelands, approximately 1000 feet from where her father was found.
A Facebook post last week by the company where both hikers worked reported that the search crews that discovered the bodies found that both had died as a result of exposure.
However, the autopsy results reported by the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Thursday, June 12, said Esther Keiderling’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force injuries.
The Chief Medical Examiner’s office said Tim Keiderling’s cause of death is pending further studies.
