Man Dies After Falling 250 Feet Down NH Waterfall

FRANCONIA, NH — A 23-year-old Connecticut man was killed after authorities said he tumbled 250 feet down a waterfall at Cannon Mountain over the weekend. New Hampshire Fish and Game identified the man as Zachariah Petersen of Jewett City. Petersen was camping with a friend atop the 250-foot waterfall near the Tram Brook Saturday night when something went wrong at about 11:15 p.m., according to New Hampshire Fish and Game Lieutenant James Kneeland.

"(Petersen) slipped and fell the entire length of the waterfall," Kneeland said in a statement. "His companion pulled him from the brook and then ran to the base stopping a car in the parkway to call for help."

First responders arrived and pronounced Petersen dead.

"It appears as though alcohol may have been a factor in the incident," Fish and Game said in a statement.

Fish and Game did not identify the friend.

Cannon Mountain's peak is 4,080 feet. Part of the mountain includes Cannon Mountain Ski Area while undeveloped portions attract rock climbers in the summer and ice climbers in the winter. Cannon Mountain was home to New Hampshire's famous Old Man of the Mountain rock formation that collapsed in 2003.

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