CONTACT:
CO Levi Frye
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
September 16, 2024

Kilkenny, NH – At 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 14, NH Fish and Game was notified of an injured hiker approximately 2.7 miles up the Unknown Pond Trail in Kilkenny. The hiker, identified as Heather Allen, 44, of Orange, CT, had been descending the trail when she slipped and suffered a severe lower-leg injury which prevented her from being able to hike out. She was able to make a 911 call for help.

Rescue personnel from Berlin Fire Department, Milan Fire Department, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR), Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue (PEMI SAR), a paramedic and advanced EMT from Berlin Ambulance, along with Conservation Officers responded to the call. The first rescuers reached Allen just prior to 7:00 p.m. By 8:00 p.m., enough rescuers had arrived to place Allen in a rescue litter and start carrying her down. The rescue crew arrived at the trailhead parking lot off of York Pond Road in Berlin at 10:30 p.m. From there she was transported to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin by Berlin Ambulance.

Allen had been on a day hike with friends and family as a part of Flags on the 48, a September 11th Memorial Hike, where a flag is placed on each of the 48 4,000 footers in New Hampshire. She was part of a group that placed a flag on Mt. Cabot. Allen and her hiking party had hiked up the Bunnell Notch Trail, summited Mt. Cabot, and was descending via Unknown Pond Trail when the accident happened.