Officials said the man had suffered a significant fall.
A man who went missing after he reportedly wandered off the summit of Mount Washington on Wednesday has been found dead.
According to New Hampshire Fish and Game officials, search crews located the body of William Davis, 79, of Jacksonville, Florida, Friday, June 18 at approximately 11 a.m.
This was the third day searching for the man who had wandered away from the summit of Mt. Washington on Wednesday afternoon.
An exhaustive search of the western side of the summit had already been conducted on Wednesday night and all day Thursday with no evidence or clue of his whereabouts.
A crew consisting of Fish & Game Conservation Officers and volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR) arrived early in the morning to begin the third day of the search; this time concentrating on the east and south slopes of Mount Washington.
The weather had deteriorated from the previous two days of warm temperatures and light winds to high winds, clouds, rain, and temperatures in the low 40s with a 32-degree wind chill.
The search teams split up and were again tasked with searching off trail sections. At approximately 11 a.m., volunteer searchers located Davis’ body 400 feet off Lion Head Trail between Alpine Garden Trail and Tuckerman Ravine Trail.
An Army National Guard Blackhawk Helicopter, on a training mission, arrived on station to assist in whatever way they could with the search and recovery. The helicopter had to combat heavy winds and cloud cover, but a window of opportunity presented itself just before 1 p.m., and they were able to land nearby and remove the body.
Officials said that athough it is too soon to determine the exact cause of death, it was clear at the scene that Davis suffered a significant fall from a steep, rocky slope.
The body was transported to the New Hampshire Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy to determine cause of death.
