Missing Brooklyn Hiker Found Dead At Mohonk Preserve

MARBLETOWN, NY — The body of a missing Brooklyn man was found after a three-day search of the Mohonk Preserve.

Authorities said the man left his home Saturday, March 11 and did not show up at work the following Monday or Tuesday, according to a news release from the Department of Environmental Conservation.

The man’s daughter was the last person to hear from him by phone before he began a solo hike in the Bonticou Crag area.

Around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, troopers from the New York State Police found the man’s vehicle in the Spring Farm parking lot of the preserve.

Over the next three days, 10 forest rangers joined the troopers, Mohonk Preserve patrol rangers, Sam’s Point search and rescue and Marbletown rescue in the search.

Authorities said the search effort was made more difficult by the steep, rocky, technical terrain and the recent snowstorm.

At 10:15 a.m. Friday, March 17, searchers found the man’s backpack and cell phone at the base of a 50-foot cliff.

The man was found dead at 4:32 p.m., about 400 feet away from the presumed fall site.

His body was turned over to the Ulster County Medical Examiner’s Office.