Massachusetts hikers rescued after stranded on Mt. Washington

SARGENT’S PURCHASE, NH. (WWLP) – Crews rescued two hikers from Massachusetts who became lost on Mt. Washington.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division learned of the disappearances just after 6:00 p.m. Sunday evening. Crews were sent after 911 received a call about hikers lost off the trail that was adjacent to the Jewell Trail on Mt. Washington.

The hikers, 51-year-old Kathryn McKee of Fayville, Massachusetts, and 54-year-old Beata Lelacheur of Westborough, Massachusetts, were stuck in the snow, about 5,000 feet above sea level in the middle of whiteout conditions.

GPS coordinates revealed that the two hikers were only 34 feet from the trail. A Conservation Officer was able to talk to them over a cell phone and directed them towards the trail. After trying to find the trail, which was erased by wind and snow, for two hours, McKee and Lelacheur huddled up in the snow and waited for assistance.

Around 8:30 p.m., Fish and Game crews began a rescue operation in -2-degree weather with winds at 50 to 60 mph. The State Park snow cat started to head up the mountain at 11:00 p.m. with rescuers arriving before midnight. After searching for the hikers on snow shoes, the two hikers were located at 1:50 a.m.

The hikers were suffering from cold weather injuries, so crews set up emergency shelters to begin warming them up. It took an our for the hikers to be able to move on their own, and at 4:15, the rescuers and the hikers reached the Bast Station of the Cog Railway. The hikers were taken to Littleton Regional Hospital for their injuries.