Hiker found dead days after going missing on Appalachian Trail, Georgia officials say
A missing Appalachian Trail hiker was found dead Wednesday, Georgia officials say.
Eddie Noonkester started an end-to-end hike of the trail on Friday but became disoriented and went missing, according to a Facebook post from Dawson County Fire and Emergency Services.
The trail is about 2,200 miles long and stretches from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Katahdin, Maine, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
Rescuers had narrowed their search for Noonkester to Dawson County on Monday and believed he was on or near the trail. But officials said it was possible he wandered off and could be in the surrounding national forest or park.
Officials were also concerned he was having a medical emergency, emergency services says.
Multiple local and state agencies along with volunteers searched the area, which the post says has rough terrain and is “very dangerous” in some places, for days.
Rescuers found Noonkester’s body just before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday about a mile from the “hike-in trail,” Dawson County fire chief and EMA director Danny Thompson said in a Wednesday evening press conference broadcast by 11Alive.
Officials don’t yet know the cause of death but say they have no reason to suspect foul play, CBS46 reports.
His brother Wesley thanked everyone who helped with the search during the press conference, WMAZ reports.
“It’s not the outcome that I had hoped for, but at the end of the day, our goal was to bring Eddie home and we were able to do that,” he said, according to WMAZ.
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Hiker found dead days after going missing on Appalachian Trail, Georgia officials say."
