Injured hiker rescued off Mount Avalon

BETHLEHEM — At approximately 1:40 p.m. on Oct. 22, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department was notified of an injured hiker on the Mt. Avalon Trail in Bethlehem. The hiker was identified as Shawn Edwards, 54, of Hebron, Maine. Edwards was hiking with a religious group for the day. They had ascended Mount Avalon and were descending from the summit when Edwards misjudged a steep section of the trail and took a fall, causing injuries that made him unable to walk down the mountain without assistance. A passing hiker called 911 for help.

Members of the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team and the N.H. Army National Guard were called to see if they could assist in the rescue efforts. The guard sent a flight crew to Edwards’s location arriving at 2:40 p.m. They placed Edwards in a litter and hoisted him into the helicopter where he was brought to the AMC Crawford Notch Visitor Center. Edwards was transported to Littleton Regional Healthcare for further evaluation and treatment by the Twin Mountain Ambulance Service.