On March 14 at 11:30 p.m., New York State Police (NYSP) located the vehicle of a missing 45-year-old from Brooklyn in the Spring Farm parking lot of Mohonk Preserve. Over the next three days, 10 Forest Rangers joined NYSP, Mohonk Preserve Patrol Rangers, Sam’s Point Search and Rescue, and Marbletown Rescue in the search.
The subject left his home on March 11, and did not report to work the following Monday or Tuesday. His daughter was the last person to hear from him by phone before he began a solo hike in the Bonticou Crag area. The search effort was made more difficult by the steep, rocky, technical terrain, and the recent snowstorm.
On March 17 at 10:15 a.m., searchers located the hiker’s backpack and cell phone at the base of a 50-foot cliff. At 4:32 p.m., searchers found the subject deceased, approximately 400 feet away from the presumed fall site. The body was turned over to the Ulster County Medical Examiner’s Office.