Body of missing hiker found

FRANCONIA, N.H. — A Massachusetts woman who disappeared during a weekend hike in New Hampshire was found dead, Wednesday on what would have been her 20th birthday.

Emily Sotelo, of Westford, Mass., had planned to hike three peaks in the White Mountains, on Sunday. Officials said her mother dropped her off before dawn at a campground near Franconia Notch and alerted authorities when she failed to return by late afternoon.

Fish and Game officers and volunteers from more than a dozen search and rescue teams spent the next several days combing the area, using aircraft and scent dogs. They found tracks and items belonging to Sotelo at the headwaters of Lafayette Brook, on Tuesday afternoon, but by that night were describing their efforts as a recovery mission rather than rescue.

Sotelo’s body was found on the northwest side of Mount Lafayette in Franconia at 11:15 a.m., according to Fish and Game. An Army National Guard helicopter brought her to the nearby Cannon Mountain ski area.

Officials said Sotelo was close to reaching her goal of hiking New Hampshire’s 48 peaks above 4,000 feet before she turned 20 but was woefully unprepared for the deep snow and high winds, on Sunday. She was wearing a light jacket, hiking sneakers and exercise pants over long underwear.