Missing hiker Esther Keiderling, 28, was found dead on Maine’s Mount Katahdin on Wednesday, a day after her father, Tim Keiderling, 58, was discovered deceased near the mountain’s summit.
Ms. Keiderling was found in a wooded area between two trails, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said on Facebook. Officials didn’t say what caused her death or her father’s death.
Her body was found about 1,000 feet from where Mr. Keiderling was discovered Tuesday, Baxter State Park said on Facebook. Mount Katahdin is in the park.
The father and daughter went for the hike Sunday. Park rangers started looking for them Monday, since their car was still parked in a day-use lot near a trailhead, BSP officials said.
Heinrich Arnold, Mr. Keiderling’s brother-in-law, said on Facebook that “the Keiderling family and our community are grateful for the outpouring of prayers and support we have received. … One comfort to the family is knowing that Tim and Esther were doing something they both were passionate about: being near to God, surrounded by expansive views and visions, immersed in nature, in the raw and wild beauty of creation.”
Rifton Equipment, which employed both victims, said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened to tell our friends and customers of the death of two members of our Rifton family,” according to The New York Times.
