The body of a missing hiker was recovered over the weekend in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, according to authorities, who said the man died after “a significant fall in icy terrain.” The missing man was located at about 2,800 feet in elevation, according to the state Fish and Game Department. Photo courtesy of Samuel Banas, U.S. Geological Survey
Nov. 25 (UPI) — The body of a missing hiker was recovered over the weekend in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, according to authorities, who said the man died after “a significant fall in icy terrain.”
The body of Christopher Huyler, 44, was located in Franconia Notch State Park early Saturday, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department announced Monday.
“Just prior to 1:00 a.m. EST, while ascending the edges of a steep iced-over slide, the body of the missing man was located at around 2,800 feet in elevation,” the department said in a statement.
“It was apparent that the man had suffered a significant fall in the icy terrain,” the department added. “He was wearing micro spikes and was well equipped for a hike.”
Huyler, who is from Littleton, died Friday during the hike near state-run Cannon Mountain through the Coppermine Brook Valley to check off-trail conditions before the ski season. He told his family he was heading back at 4 p.m. When he did not return, his wife called for help. Huyler’s car was found still parked in Franconia.
Cannon Mountain is a historic ski resort that is scheduled to open for the season on Friday, as 8 inches of new snow fell over the weekend and temperatures dropped into the mid-30s.
“Winter conditions have arrived in the mountains and hikers are encouraged to be prepared for their trek,” the Fish and Game Department warned.
Nearly two dozen rescuers helped carry the hiker’s body more than 3 miles off the mountain. The New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy.
Last week, the body of a Massachusetts woman was found on New Hampshire’s Mount Lafayette, which is at the northern end of the Franconia Range in the White Mountains, after she also failed to return from a solo hike.
The White House responded Monday to the New Hampshire Episcopal bishop who urged his clergy to finalize their wills and get their affairs in order and prepare for a “new era of martyrdom” at a vigil for ICE shooting victim Renee Good.
Bishop A. Robert Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire also criticized the “horror unleashed in Minneapolis” and said people of Christian faith should not fear death in a Jan. 9 speech, a video of which has since gone viral.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in an emailed response to a question from NBC News about Hirschfeld’s address: “No one should follow advice encouraging them to commit crimes. Anyone who interferes with federal law enforcement operations is committing a crime and will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The Trump administration has staunchly defended the fatal Jan. 7 shooting of Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. They insist Ross fired in self-defense against a motorist who ran him over — even though cellphone video of the shooting showed Good turning the steering wheel away from Ross as she began to drive and Ross still standing after he shot into her SUV numerous times.
Good’s killing has sparked numerous anti-ICE protests across Minneapolis and harsh criticism from local leaders like Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who are now being investigated by the Justice Department for allegedly conspiring to impede federal immigration agents.
Hirschfeld addressed Good’s shooting at a Jan. 9 vigil in Concord, New Hampshire.
Responding to the White House, he said, “In no way have I, or will I, advocate, support, or encourage, criminal behavior, especially acts of violence.”
“We are speaking about peaceful, non-violent resistance against those who without warrant or justification threaten physical injury, or even death,” he said in an email to NBC News. “Non-violence and love, as Jesus himself practiced and lived, should be the way for us to settle all differences in a free society.”
During his speech, Hirschfeld criticized “those who call themselves Christians” and who are close to the Trump administration and “who tell us the way the world works is by force.”
He also mentioned several historical clergy members who risked their lives to protect others, including New Hampshire seminary student Jonathan Daniels, who was shot and killed by an Alabama sheriff’s deputy while he was shielding a young Black civil rights activist in 1965.
“I have told the clergy of the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire that we may be entering into that same witness,” Hirschfeld said. “And I’ve asked them to get their affairs in order, to make sure they have their wills written, because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements but for us with our bodies, to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable.”
Hirschfeld said people of Christian faith should not fear death, but he did not call for responding to the ICE raids with violence.
“Those of us who are ready to build a new world, we also have to be prepared,” he said. “If we truly want to live without fear, we cannot fear even death itself, my friends.”
As for Good, Hirschfeld said, “I believe God is raising Renee Good to glory right now.”
Good, 37, a mother of three and a U.S. citizen, was behind the wheel of an SUV on a snowy residential street when she was shot and killed by Ross.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Ross was treated in a hospital for injuries he sustained in the incident and was released soon after.
But emergency services logs obtained by NBC News say Ross was first taken to a federal building. A DHS official claimed that Ross sustained internal bleeding to the torso after the incident but did not elaborate on the extent of his injuries.
Two skiers had to be rescued from deep snow and blizzard-like conditions in New Hampshire’s White Mountains on Saturday.
Shortly before 5 p.m. on Saturday, New Hampshire Fish and Game was notified of two skiers who were lost in deep snow and blizzard-like conditions on the summit of Mount Moosilauke in the White Mountains.
The two skiers said that due to strong winds and no visibility, they had lost the trail and were stuck in waist deep snow. They said they had only 2% battery life left on their cell phones and no warm gear or light to continue.
Fish and game conservation officers and volunteers from the PEMI Valley Search and Rescue team staged in Warren and used snowmobiles to travel four miles up Mount Moosilauke. The rescuers then hiked another mile and a half and then fought through extremely deep snow and thick trees, finally locating the skiers at 11 p.m.
The skiers were identified as Romain Tronchi, 30, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Gabriel Mahe, 32, of Somerville, Massachusetts.
Due to the deep snow and rugged terrain, it took over an hour to get the skiers back up and onto the trail. Once on the trail, the skiers and rescuers were able to hike back to the snowmobiles, where everyone was relayed back down the mountain by 2 a.m.
No further information was released.
Concord, N.H. – A New Hampshire Episcopal bishop is attracting national attention after warning his clergy to finalize their wills and get their affairs in order to prepare for a “new era of martyrdom.”
Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire made his comments earlier this month at a vigil honoring Renee Good, who was fatally shot on Jan. 7 behind the wheel of her vehicle by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
The Trump administration has defended the ICE officer’s actions, saying he fired in self-defense while standing in front of Good’s vehicle as it began to move forward. That explanation has been panned by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and others based on videos of the confrontation.
Hirschfeld’s speech cited several historical clergy members who had risked their lives to protect others, including mentioning New Hampshire seminary student Jonathan Daniels, who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in Alabama while shielding a young Black civil rights activist in 1965.
“I have told the clergy of the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire that we may be entering into that same witness,” Hirschfeld said. “And I’ve asked them to get their affairs in order, to make sure they have their wills written, because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies, to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable.”
Hirschfeld did not call for violence, but instead said people of Christian faith should not fear death.
“Those of us who are ready to build a new world, we also have to be prepared,” he said. “If we truly want to live without fear, we cannot fear even death itself, my friends.”
Other religious leaders have also called on Christians to protect the vulnerable amid the uptick in immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, including the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.
“We keep resisting, advocating, bearing witness and repairing the breach,” Rowe said during a prayer earlier this week. “We keep sheltering and caring for those among us who are immigrants and refugees because they are beloved by God, and without them, we cannot fully be the church.”
In Minnesota, the Rt. Rev. Craig Loya urged people not to meet “hatred with hatred” but instead focus on love in “a world obviously not fine.”
“We are going to make like our ancient ancestors, and turn the world upside down by mobilizing for love,” he said. “We are going to disrupt with Jesus’ hope. We are going agitate with Jesus’ love.”
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