The body of a Massachusetts man who was hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail between New Hampshire and Maine was found inside his tent by a Maine game warden searching near Rangeley on Monday morning.

Kyle Hladik discovered Jeffrey Aylward, 63, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, in Township D around 10 a.m., Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokesman Mark Latti said in a news release. Aylward had a recent history of health issues and his death was not considered suspicious, Latti said.

Jeffrey Aylward Maine Warden Service

Aylward began hiking north on the Appalachian Trail at Pinkham Notch in New Hampshire on July 1. He was bound for Mount Katahdin – the trail’s northern terminus – and met up with family members about every eight days to be resupplied. The family had not heard from him since he sent them a text on July 23.

“When he no longer provided them with communication, (the family) became concerned and called for help,” Latti said in the release. Aylward’s family reported him missing on Saturday night.

Wardens spent the weekend distributing information about Aylward at lean-to and sign-in stations along the Appalachian Trail in hopes that someone had seen him. His trail name was “Dusty Pilgrim.”

Hladik found his tent about two-tenths of a mile west of Route 17, near the popular destination known as the Height of Land. His tent was about 50 yards from the trail, and visible from the trail, Latti said.

 

 

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