Father-Daughter Hikers Died Apart

UPDATE Jun 5, 2025 8:15 AM CDT

The body of a 28-year-old woman was discovered Wednesday on Maine's highest mountain, which she'd set out to hike with her father. Esther Keiderling's body was discovered around 1pm "in a boulder area between the Cathedral and Saddle Trails off the Tablelands," about 1,000 feet from where the body of her father, 58-year-old Tim Keiderling, was found Tuesday, per WMTW. Authorities haven't said how the pair died, but their employer, Rifton Equipment, said they'd "succumbed to exposure" after setting out on Sunday, per the New York Times. Temperatures on the peak had fallen to the low 30s on Sunday and Monday, the outlet reports, adding that there's no cell service in the area.

Jun 4, 2025 10:30 AM CDT

A father-daughter duo ran into fatal trouble while hiking Maine's highest mountain. The body of the father, 58-year-old Tim Keiderling of Ulster Park, New York, was discovered near the summit of Mount Katahdin, the northern end point of the Appalachian Trail, around 2:45pm on Tuesday, shortly after state officials announced the pair's disappearance, per CBS News. Officials said the search for 28-year-old Esther Keiderling, also of Ulster Park, was ongoing. Esther had written online about the planned hike a day before setting out. "I'm a little nervous after everything I've read about the Abol trail but I'm going to do it if weather permits!" she wrote on Substack, adding the pair planned to set out before 7am, per WMTW. The hike takes eight to 12 hours on average, per People.

The pair departed a campground near the base of the mountain as planned on Sunday morning and were last seen making their way to the 5,269-foot summit around 10:15am. A search began Monday morning, following a chilly night, after the father's vehicle was discovered in the day-use parking lot. The search was expanded Tuesday to include more than 30 game wardens, the Maine Army National Guard, a K9 crew, and three helicopters, per CBS. Officials said Tim Keiderling's body was found on the tableland near the summit by a Maine Warden Service K9 team. Amid the ongoing search, state police are asking anyone with information and any hikers who were near the summit between 10:30am and 2:30pm on Sunday to reach out by calling 207-532-5400. (More Maine stories.)