A 79-year-old Jacksonville man who wandered off the summit of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire was found dead Friday after a multi-day search by state parks personnel, conservation officers and volunteers, the New Hampshire Fish & Game Law Enforcement Division said.
New Hampshire officials say William Davis was last seen near the observation deck around 3:20 p.m. Wednesday after taking the Cog Train to the top of the summit. Davis’ wife told officials that no one knows where he went from there.
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He was found dead around 11 a.m. on Friday.
“Although it is too soon to determine the exact cause of death, it was clear at the scene that Davis suffered a significant fall from a steep, rocky slope. The body was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy to determine cause of death,” Fish & Game officials said.
Officials said they don’t know how Davis ended up at that location and how far he had traveled over rocky terrain to get there.
“He was not a hiker, had no map, and every indication is he wandered off the summit without telling anyone where he was going. It is a tragic end to a tough search mission and the Fish and Game Department would like to thank all the volunteers and staff who worked tirelessly to bring Davis back to his family,” officials said.
Fish and Game personnel were notified around 6 p.m. Wednesday that he was missing.
Fish and Game officers, Mt. Washington State Park personnel and volunteer search teams from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR) had been searching for Davis ever since.
A state park employee was able to reach Davis by phone, and it seemed he was lost off trail but was not far from the summit. Davis did not know where he was, but his description of the area made it seem that he would be easily located, officials said.
But after over an hour, searchers had not found him and he had stopped answering his phone.
A full-scale search was conducted with a Drone Team and over 24 rescue personnel searching off-trail locations well into the early morning hours, wildlife officials said.
The temperatures were mild with light winds initially, which helped the searchers, but fog came in late, and the wind picked up.
With no evidence of his whereabouts and no clues to go on, the search was suspended around 2 a.m. and started again at 6 a.m.
Drone Teams started right after sunrise, and search teams consisting of AVSAR volunteers, State Park employees and Conservation Officers from around the state arrived and searched areas where it was assumed Davis would have most likely walked to.
Searchers scoured off-trail locations in periods of thick clouds and increasing winds throughout the day.
