37-year-old Christopher Roma placed the distress call to his acquaintances on a Tuesday night, which was relayed to the local law enforcement authorities on Thursday, as per the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department in a press statement. After receiving this information, his acquaintances promptly contacted 911.
The officers of the Fish and Game Department of New Hampshire were alerted about the hiker's predicament around Mount Bond in Lincoln at approximately 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the press statement.
"Eventually, the hiker made contact with NH's 911, from where the coordinates which showed the hiker between Mount Bond and Mount Guyot were obtained", the statement clarifies.
Before the call got disconnected, Roma conveyed that he was "very cold", battling against the severe winds, freezing temperatures, and snow as per the statement.
Rescue efforts started at 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday, as reported in the statement.
However, the process was hindered due to the rescuers having to wade through "waist-deep snow" and strong winds. Consequently, attempts were made to coordinate with the New Hampshire National Guard for a potential helicopter extraction.
"Throughout the day, the New Hampshire National Guard conducted three different flights to the Lincoln area, but they were unable to approach Mount Guyot due to the low clouds and poor visibility", the statement reads. "By early afternoon, ground teams still hadn't reached the subject", it adds.
A team from the Mountain Rescue Service reached the hiker by 5:00 p.m. but, unfortunately, found him unresponsive.
"It was decided that all rescuers would exit the mountain for the night, with an extraction planned for the following morning", the statement further added.
On Thursday, ground teams attempted to reach the area through another route and the National Guard initiated an airborne recovery.
"The cloud ceiling had lifted slightly overnight, enabling the National Guard to gain access to Mount Guyot", the statement reads. "The helicopter was able to land and recover the body of the deceased hiker at around 8:30 a.m.", it concludes.
