Local News

Joshua Luth, of Lancaster, died despite the efforts of first responders and good Samaritans.

A Massachusetts man died after suffering a “medical incident” while hiking in Monadnock State Park in New Hampshire Saturday. 

The man was identified as Joshua Luth, 20, of Lancaster, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. 

Conservation officers with the department received a call at about 4:11 p.m. from rangers at Monadnock State Park about a hiker who was suffering a medical event.

The hiker was on the Cascade Link trail about three-quarters-of-a-mile from the state park headquarters on Poole Road in Jaffrey, park rangers reported. 

The Cascade Link trail is an approximately four-mile-long route that takes hikers through the heart of Monadnock State Park. It has an elevation gain of 1,276 feet and can normally be completed in two-and-a-half or three hours, according to the website AllTrails. Parts of the trail can be “steep and technical.”

Good Samaritans had come across Luth, who was hiking solo, and called 911. They began administering CPR, but his condition continued to deteriorate, officials said. As conservation officers responded, they requested help from local fire departments. First responders from seven local departments responded, alongside multiple ambulance services and an air ambulance service from Massachusetts. 

Despite their efforts, Luth “succumbed to the medical event he sustained while hiking,” the Fish and Game Department said in a statement. Officials did not provide details about the medical event. The cause of the incident remains under investigation by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.