A father-daughter hike to the summit of Mount Katahdin became a double tragedy, thanks to “treacherous” weather conditions. Tim Keiderling, 58, and his daughter Esther, 28, parked in a day-use lot at Baxter State Park on Sunday and began summiting the 5,269-foot peak. Both hikers died on Katahdin, and officials are still piecing together what happened.
After the hikers failed to return to their vehicle by Monday morning, a search party of dozens of game wardens, as well as helicopters and K9 teams began scouring the trails for the Keiderlings. On Tuesday, the search party located Tim Keiderling’s body near the summit of Maine’s highest peak.
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The search continued for Esther. The next day, a technical rescue team found Ester Keiderling’s body about 1,000 feet away from where they’d found her father. The presumed cause of death is exposure to the elements. Accuweather’s report of the tragedy calls the windy, cold, and rainy weather conditions the pair faced “treacherous.”
See Baxter State Park’s Facebook posts about the hikers who died on Mount Katahdin here:
And here is a touching tribute to the pair from their employer:
Header stock image by Jerry Monkman / Aurora Photos/Getty Images