Hiker Flown to Hospital After Medical Emergency
SARGENT’S PURCHASE — Conservation officers say a hiker from New York was airlifted from the base of the Mount Washington Auto Road after suffering an undisclosed medical emergency Sunday afternoon.
Sgt. Mark Ober of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Region One office in Lancaster said a man identified as Mark Winkler, 60, of Pleasantville, N.Y., had been hiking with a group of companions when he became ill around 1 p.m. Sunday.
According to Ober, the group had hiked in from the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, on the Old Jackson Road, to Lowe’s Bald Spot, located about two-tenths of a mile off of the Auto Road. When the group stopped at Lowe’s Bald Spot, Winkler started exhibiting signs and symptoms of suffering a possible medical emergency, prompting members of his hiking group to call 911 for help.
Gorham Ambulance service responded, sending two medics to the location and providing immediate medical support. Additional rescue efforts were provided by volunteers from the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR), Fish and Game, and members of Winkler’s own hiking party.
Winkler was stabilized on scene, then placed into a rescue litter and carried out to the Auto Road and into an ambulance. According to Ober, from there Winkler was brought down the mountain, to a Central Maine Med Life Flight helicopter that landed in a field adjacent to the entrance to the Auto Road.
Winkler was loaded into the helicopter and flown to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine, for treatment.
No further information was available Sunday night.
