Stranded hiker, dogs rescued from New Hampshire mountain

FRANCONIA, N.H. – Authorities say rescuers communicated by text and trudged through waist-deep snow and poor visibility to reach a stranded hiker who was huddled with his two dogs atop Mount Lafayette in New Hampshire.

They say 25-year-year-old Vincent Hevey, of Quebec, left with his dogs from a trailhead at 9 a.m. Wednesday to reach the summit, where he arrived at about 3 p.m. Once there, he lost the trail and his gloves. Eventually, he found a trail and stayed put until rescuers arrived shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, about 800 feet south of the summit. Everyone arrived back at the trailhead around 5 a.m.

Lt. James Kneeland of the Fish and Game Department says it’s doubtful Hevey would have survived the night if rescuers hadn’t arrived when they did.