Massachusetts

Missing Mass. Hiker Found After 4 Days

A missing hiker and Massachusetts native has been found after vanishing for four days.

According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game, it was notified at about 7:45 p.m. Friday night that a hiker who had been missing in the Pemigewasset Wilderness since June 24 may have been found.

First responders were able to respond to the intersection of the Bond Cliff Trail and the Wilderness Trail located 4.8 miles from the trailhead. The hiker was taken back to the trailhead where his family was waiting.

After the hiker, identified as Christopher Staff, 70, of Dorchester, was reunited with his family, he was taken to Speare Memorial Hospital for further evaluation, officials said.

Staff's wife had reported him overdue on June 24 after he set out to complete a day-long, 31-mile hike and did not return that evening.

Authorities responded to the Pemi Wilderness on June 25 but did not find Staff. Other hikers, however, told officials that they had possibly seen him near the summit of Mount Bond.

The search continued on June 26, with the New Hampshire Army National Guard assisting by flying searchers to the summits and conducting aerial searches of the area.

Searchers continued to look for Staff through the 27th and 28th. Officials left Lincoln Woods around 7:30 p.m. Friday and received the call about Staff at 7:45 p.m.

One hiker who found Staff stayed with him while the other hiker ran the 4.8 miles to Lincoln Woods to get help.

It is unclear where Staff had been or what he had been doing over the course of the four days.

The incident remains under investigation.

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