MARBLETOWN – A 45-year-old Brooklyn man who went on a solo hike in the Mohonk Preserve in Marbletown was found dead at the bottom of a 50-foot cliff, State DEC forest rangers report.
The victim, whose name was not released, 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 his hike in the Bonticou Crag area.
At around 11:30 p.m. on March 14, State Police located his vehicle in the Spring Farm parking lot of Mohonk Preserve.
Over the next three days, 10 forest rangers joined state troopers, Mohonk Preserve patrol rangers, Sam’s Point Search and Rescue, and Marbletown Rescue in the search.
The search effort was made more difficult by the steep, rocky, technical terrain, and the recent snowstorm.
On Friday, March 17 at 10:15 a.m., searched found the hiker’s backpack and cell phone at the base of a 50-foot cliff.
At about 4:30 p.m., searchers found the man dead, about 400 feet away from the presumed fall site.
The body was turned over to the Ulster County Medical Examiner’s Office.
