News

Police investigate death of hiker

By Colin DeVries

TANNERSVILLE — A daylong hiking trip turned into a daytime horror for a group of hikers on Thursday, after discovering the body of a man in rough terrain off the trail.

On the Pecoy Trail in the Catskill Mountain State Park, approximately 3 miles off Roaringkill Road, a deceased 59-year-old male subject was found by area hikers, New York State Police said.

State police have not yet released the name of the man, pending notification of family members.

An investigation by state police revealed that the man’s vehicle had been parked at the trailhead on Roaringkill Road and that he signed a hiker registry dated June 11.

Investigators believe that the man may have fallen victim to an undisclosed medical illness while hiking on the trail and collapsed into a wooded area.

Bethany Wardle, one of the hikers who found the body, affirmed that the hike may be strenuous at times.

She said that the trail is uphill for the most part, and sufficient supplies of water and food are a must.

New York State Forest Rangers, Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies, Hunter Police and the Tannersville Rescue Squad attempted to recover the body but had trouble negotiating the rough terrain.

The assistance of the New York State Police Aviation Unit was necessary to winch the man’s body out of the wooded area.

Greene County Coroner Hassan Basagic said that no definite cause of death has been determined at this point.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed today at St. Peter’s Hospital by pathologist Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard.

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