Found Deceased NH - Hiker Emily Sotelo, from MA, dropped off in Franconia, Lafayette trailhead, Hiking Mounts Lafayette, Haystack & Flume, 20 Nov 2022

[MissMYB]

She is from Westford, Mass. Is that where she and the mother left from to get to the trailhead? I can't find in any reports if they started out from home or had stayed overnight in the area. Driving from Westford to Franconia is a solid two hours without stopping for bathroom breaks, etc. So that means they had to have left Westford at 3 am?

And has the mom said what her plan was for when her daughter was hiking? Was she just going to wait at the trailhead or drive somewhere?

I get that some hikers are this committed but there are a lot of questions in this situation. jmo

EXACTLY.

 

[bettyboop]

I was in touch with Rickshaw Fan, who has been
actively involved in the search and therefore has been unable to post here. There were many teams out searching for Emily today. I haven't heard any recent updates. I am sure Rickshaw Fan will be here when they are able. JMO MOO

 

[MissMYB]

I so want her found safe. The details are scary though. So many questions.

 

[acutename]

I was in touch with Rickshaw Fan, who has been
actively involved in the search and therefore has been unable to post here. There were many teams out searching for Emily today. I haven't heard any recent updates. I am sure Rickshaw Fan will be here when they are able. JMO MOO

RF will be apoplectic... this is like what not to do in winter weather 101

 

[borndem]

Agree. I spent a few past winter weeks at the Balsams, which was a winter resort a couple of counties away from Franconia (imagine Dirty Dancing with big snowbanks) and I cannot even describe to you the cold up there. For anyone less familiar with New Hampshire, this is way way up there, far closer to Canada than to the state capital, actually north of a few of the most populated areas of Maine. It is otherworldly. The wind in the mountains - I cannot fathom what was going on here in the conversations leading up to this drop off/hike - but let us all pray for some miraculous outcome. Credit to the rescuers, the hardy stock who are locally geographically familiar, because - imagine this - it was a low of 9 degrees in Franconia today, and that’s at town center. That’s not ascending the mountain. Whoa.

Thanks for the informative post, @caradana. I've never traveled in the areas that are discussed here, and I am very frightened for her -- if indeed, that is where she is. I'm hoping, as some other WS'ers are, that she is with a friend somewhere, and in a warm house, hotel, etc.

Why would her mom let her go? Her mom could have simply refused to take her there. (Just my thoughts on this -- I've no idea about the personalities or relationships of either mom or daughter.)
How in the world can this young woman still be alive if she is on any part of those mountains? IMO, it just couldn't be possible unless she met up with someone there who had proper weather and camping gear. SMH.
Hoping for good news soon.

 

[DatelineFan]

I think I'll sit on my hands while I follow this one. I really hope there's a positive outcome somehow

 

[Countem]

Search will continue Tuesday in New Hampshire for missing hiker from Massachusetts - The Boston Globe

The search for a Massachusetts woman who went hiking in New Hampshire on Sunday morning and has not returned is set to resume Tuesday, officials said.

www.bostonglobe.com

This is new (to me) information.

Colonel KJ said [ES] was seeking to finish hiking every 4,000-foot peak in New Hampshire before she turned 20 this week. […] Her mother, Olivera, said she had “four or five” mountains left on her list.

It appears that the loop that she was on would have crossed three 4,000-foot peaks off her list: Mount Lafayette, Mount Haystack, and Mount Flume.

This might have been a major motivating factor in pushing to complete this trail.

 

[ForensicMass]

I saw the authorities had posted a public plea for anyone who may have seen her to contact them. But I think equally important might be any reports from persons who were out there that did not see her/cross her path. I know in these conditions there may not be much traffic on the trails, but if they know where she supposedly started out, and anyone was descending and didn’t pass her then perhaps she didn’t make it very far from the trailhead, or turned around. Theories about her just deceiving mom to meet someone seem just as unlikely as this ill-prepared hike scenario, IMO. that would only make sense if she was looking to disappear for good- and I would think anyone looking to do that would take more with them than the clothes on their back. Right now I’m suspicious of the drop-off occurring at all. I wonder if she made it to the trail. Was she even in the car- can authorities pull camera footage from the 95 tolls and see if there are two people in this car? Just throwing thoughts out there.

 

[ForensicMass]

Search will continue Tuesday in New Hampshire for missing hiker from Massachusetts - The Boston Globe

The search for a Massachusetts woman who went hiking in New Hampshire on Sunday morning and has not returned is set to resume Tuesday, officials said.

www.bostonglobe.com

Here is some new (to me) information.

It’s odd to me that someone who’s spent that much time up there (I believe they’re saying she’s only 5 or so mountains off on her completion of all the 48 4,000ft peaks) even if only or typically in the warmer weather- would lack any appreciation for how rugged and difficult this stuff can be in winter, as would be suggested by her apparent (or suggested) lack of preparedness. Being in that type of country is the best teacher to prepare you for this stuff. To hike 40 of the 48 is quite a feat and would definitely give you some appreciation for the land and changing conditions. To me, an experienced hiker who wasn’t experienced in the cold would hike a mile or two in these conditions, realize it’s not the same as doing it in July and second guess the whole thing. For example “little food and water” - even when it’s warm if you’re planning that kind of mileage and elevation you’d have to bring sufficient supply of both. I’ve done the pemi-loop (32 mile trail in the area) in one 15-hour shot and I think I consumed 3,000 or 4,000 calories and was ravenous for a couple days afterward. I’d like to know exactly what she had with her to eat. And no lighting- sunrise now (6:45 AM) is actually later than in July (7:20 AM) in this area. You can’t start out at 5 AM with no lighting out there. It’s impossible. If you think it’s dark out on the street, as soon as you enter the woods it’s pitch black. On the 20th the moon was in waning crescent phase, 14% illumination, and it’s low in the sky. And you’ve got steep land surrounding that’s blocking any possible light. Basically it seems to me it would be pitch black in there in the true sense of the term.

 

[Skigirl]

I have ties to NH. Anyone who spends any time outside whatsoever in the White Mountains knows that if you are going to hike in winter, you have to take it very very seriously. We are talking crampons, boots, gaiters, trekking poles, mountaineering axes, many layers of warm clothing, food, etc. I've never heard of anyone setting off on that long a hike alone and that incredibly unprepared in winter. It's a totally, totally different beast from hiking in the summertime (and the trail she was heading for is rugged enough in perfect conditions). Tons of people hike Tuckerman's Ravine on Mt. Washington to ski, and there is lots and lots (and lots) of advice online about how to prepare -- but that's a route with a lot of foot traffic, snow packed from many hikers and many other people if you run into trouble. She had to have looked up the trail, right? She had to have done even the most casual google????

The story being told to news outlets does not pass the smell test. Did she actually go hiking?

 

[Skigirl]

A FB with one post on November 14, 2021:

Emily Sotelo

Emily Sotelo is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Emily Sotelo and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.

www.facebook.com

Three friends? Very peculiar. I have to wonder if the account is real?

 

[Alethea]

Is there any evidence this girl even exists? Any SM accounts?

I can drive over to Lafayette Campground today if anyone is interested and this doesn’t get resolved. We live up here almost full time and I’m really just shocked.

We have had a house here for going on 10 years and neither my husband nor I hike in the winter. We hike these exact trails in the summer but in the winter he skis and I stick to snowshoeing. The biggest problem with hiking IMO is it is so slippery so you need special ice spikes. Even then, you’re often walking and climbing on ice. I respect the people I know who get really into it but it’s a whole production. It is just not safe to do without all the gear because of all the snow and ice - you will slip and fall.

 

[Countem]

RSBM

And no lighting- sunrise now (6:45 AM) is actually later than in July (7:20 AM) in this area. You can’t start out at 5 AM with no lighting out there. It’s impossible. If you think it’s dark out on the street, as soon as you enter the woods it’s pitch black. On the 20th the moon was in waning crescent phase, 14% illumination, and it’s low in the sky. And you’ve got steep land surrounding that’s blocking any possible light. Basically it seems to me it would be pitch black in there in the true sense of the term.

Even though the press has said that she had no lighting, the press has not yet revealed if she had her cellphone on her. Many cellphones offer flashlight capabilities, so I do wonder if she was using her cellphone for lighting in lieu of formal lighting.

 

[Alethea]

These are some pictures I took in September from Flume. I never thought to even try to go in winter.

 

[ForensicMass]

RSBM


Even though the press has said that she had no lighting, the press has not yet revealed if she had her cellphone on her. Many cellphones offer flashlight capabilities, so I do wonder if she was using her cellphone for lighting in lieu of formal lighting.

I doubt that a viable option for a couple reasons
1- in the cold the battery of a cellphone being held in the hand and with the light on is not going to last very long at all. Teenagers are hyper aware of the sensitivity of cell phone batteries. If you pull out your phone to see something in a closet that’s one thing, but if you pull it out to see into a 4 mile, freezing abyss in front of you, and it barely illuminates the area, you’re going to know right away that’s just not going to work.
2- killing your phone battery for use as a light might leave you with no phone at all and as a solo hiker, highly unlikely she’d have wanted that scenario.
3 cellphone lights aren’t very bright

 

[Countem]

I doubt that a viable option for a couple reasons
1- in the cold the battery of a cellphone being held in the hand and with the light on is not going to last very long at all. Teenagers are hyper aware of the sensitivity of cell phone batteries. If you pull out your phone to see something in a closet that’s one thing, but if you pull it out to see into a 4 mile, freezing abyss in front of you, and it barely illuminates the area, you’re going to know right away that’s just not going to work.
2- killing your phone battery for use as a light might leave you with no phone at all and as a solo hiker, highly unlikely she’d have wanted that scenario.
3 cellphone lights aren’t very bright

I’m not saying it would be a wise option! I’m just saying it may have been her thought process, since she was only going to be out two hours (or so) before sunrise and was not necessarily expecting frigid weather, based on how she was dressed.

 

[MrsWatson]

So her mom saw her hike off at the start of the trail.

Did anyone else see her after she was dropped off?

Does not compute that Emily was in no way dressed for that hike yet had a goal to hike the 4k peaks. She didn't sound dressed for the weather in general, let alone hiking.

 

[MrsWatson]

Teen vanishes on popular New Hampshire hiking trail in frigid weather

A Massachusetts teenager has gone missing after being dropped off at a New Hampshire hiking trail Sunday morning, just hours before temps dropped to near zero.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[White_Mountains]

I’ll share a couple of pics from the Franconia ridge trail that were taken this May. For some perspective, it was a mild 55 degrees with almost no wind at Lafayette Place but was extremely cold and windy on the ridge. Like winter gear, 20 degree cold! You can see the wind in my pup’s fur.





I was hoping to wake up to good news. :-(

Prayers that she is found safe.

 

[mainemom376]

When was she last seen? I am asking about before the supposed hike??