Body of missing Massachusetts hiker discovered in the White Mountains of New Hampshire
Search and rescue crews in New Hampshire have located the body of a Massachusettts hiker who had been missing since April.
William Donovan’s body was found in the Dry River in Cutts Grant, New Hampshire on Monday morning by search crews.
New Hampshire Fish and Game updated the search for Donovan, age 65, on Tuesday morning.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department was first notified of a possible missing person on April 16 after Donovan’s vehicle was found parked at the Crawford Path parking lot in Carroll.
Fish and Game said searchers were directed to explore a new area after some gear and a jacket believed to have belonged to Donovan were found in the river over the weekend by hikers.
“This evidence helped focus the search and his body was ultimately located approximately 400 feet upstream from the jacket,” said Fish and Game in a statement.
The body was located just over 2.5 miles in from Route 302,” said Fish and Game. “The searchers worked for hours to extricate the body from beneath a large boulder. But due to the size of the boulder, freezing cold water temperatures and lack of tools required to move such a boulder, additional resources were called to assist.”
Emergency crews and volunteers hiked in extra tools and gear and then assisted in carrying Donovan’s body out of the wooods, which took until almost 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
“It is not known what brought Donovan into the Dry River Wilderness and it is unknown how he entered the water, but it appears he likely was somehow forced off the ridge, likely due to high winds or adverse weather, between Mt. Monroe and Mt. Eisenhower during his hike and ended up in very difficult and desolate terrain of the Dry River Wilderness,” said Fish and Game in its statement.
Donovan’s body was taken to the New Hampshire State Medical Examiners Officer in Concord for autopsy.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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