A multi agency search for a missing Quebec hiker Léo Dufour, 22, begun in December 2024 has come to an end with the discovery of his body by hikers near Mount Allen in Newcomb, Essex County, NY. Dufour had failed to return from a planned one-day hike. His car was found covered in snow at a trailhead, but tracking him had been difficult due to recent snowfall.
Mount Allen is the 26th-highest of the Adirondack High Peaks, with an elevation of 4,340 feet, but is a very challenging hike, which takes an average of almost 9 hours to complete the 18 mile round-trip route.
On May 10 at 11 am, a hiking party reported finding human remains off the Mount Allen trail. At about 1:30 pm, New York State Forest Rangers confirmed they were the remains of the missing hiker. In addition to a weeks-long Ranger-led search for DuFour last December, DEC, New York State Police, and agency partners continued searches this spring as snow receded across the Adirondack backcountry.
“The DEC family offers our deepest condolences to the DuFour family for their loss and extends our appreciation to our dedicated Forest Rangers and partners for their tireless efforts during the continuous and active search effort over the last few months,” the Department of Environmental Conservation press release announcing the discovery said. Dufour’s hometown was Vaudreuil, Quebec, just west of Montreal.
Later that same day, at about 4:36 pm, Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from the daughter of a man who tripped and fell on another High Peak, Giant Mountain (the 12th highest peak at 4,627 feet), injuring his knee and shoulder.
The caller indicated the 55-year-old from New Hampshire also fainted from the sight of blood. After regaining consciousness, his daughter gave him water and snack bars.
Around 5:30 pm, Forest Ranger Praczkajlo met the hiking party on the trail, performed a medical assessment, and determined the hiker was well enough to continue hiking back to the trailhead. The hiker refused further medical attention.
The next day, Forest Rangers responded to the Town of Hunter in the Catskills, after receiving a request at about 10:30 pm from Greene County 911 for assistance with a hiker who suffered a significant leg injury in Kaaterskill Wild Forest in Greene County.
On May 12 at about 1:30 am, a team of rescuers from Haines Falls Fire Department and Tannersville Rescue reached the 26-year-old from Sherburne. The patient was nearly 1,000 feet off trail on steep and slippery terrain.
Ranger Dawson determined the safest way to rescue the hiker was with support from New York State Police Aviation at first light. Rangers Fox and Peterson stabilized the injury and kept the patient warm with a fire overnight.
At about 7:30 am, State Police Pilots Bernardini and Leeder flew with Forest Ranger crew boss Cowart to the scene. Rangers Fox, Franceschina, and Martin prepared the hiker on the ground and Ranger Cowart successfully hoisted the subject into the helicopter.
The pilots flew to a landing zone where crews transferred the subject to Med Flight for transport to Albany Medical Center. The mission was completed at about noon.
Read past Forest Ranger search and rescue reports here.
Photos, from above: Léo Dufour; and the rescue in Hunter, NY.
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