Authorities Find Body Of Missing Appalachian Trail Hiker

Maine Public | By Ed Morin

Published August 5, 2019 at 5:43 PM EDT

The body of a 63-year-old Appalachian Trail hiker from Massachusetts was found in his tent on Monday in Township D near Rangeley.

The Maine Warden Service says Jeffrey Aylward’s family had not heard from him since July 23, and reported him missing last Saturday evening. Officials say that Aylward, whose trail name was “Dusty Pilgrim,” began his hike on July 1 at Pinkham Notch near the Maine-New Hampshire border and was headed to Mt. Katahdin.

A warden found Aylward’s body Monday morning in his tent, which was about 50 feet off the trail. Authorities say Aylward has had health issues, and they don’t believe his death is suspicious.

Environment and Outdoors

Ed Morin

Ed is a Maine native who spent his early childhood in Livermore Falls before moving to Farmington. He graduated from Mount Blue High School in 1970 before going to the University of Maine at Orono where he received his BA in speech in 1974 with a broadcast concentration. It was during that time that he first became involved with public broadcasting. He served as an intern for what was then called MPBN TV and also did volunteer work for MPBN Radio.

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