New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officer Brad Morse describes what – as a member of the search-and-rescue team – he carries in his rucksack. File video by Chris Jensen.
By Chris Jensen
A 25-year-old hiker from Quebec probably would have frozen to death on the Franconia Ridge had rescuers not reached him last night, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Lt. James Kneeland said Vincent Hevey reached the top of Mt. Lafayette about 3 p.m. along with his two dogs, but then lost track of the trail – and his gloves – on his way back down.
He called his family in Quebec and they contacted Fish and Game, which communicated with him by text messages and eventually got an idea of his location on the Franconia Ridge Trail.
Kneeland said Hevey huddled with his two dogs, trying to keep warm while members of the Mountain Rescue Service and conservation officers “trudged through waist deep snow and poor visibility to reach Franconia Ridge.”
They warmed him and helped him down the mountain, arriving at the trailhead about 5 a.m.
Kneeland said there has been no decision yet about charging Hevey for the cost of the rescue.
InDepthNH.org is NH’s nonprofit news site published by the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism. Veteran journalist Chris Jensen covers the North Country and can be reached at christopherjensennh@gmail.c