A hiker whose friends were among those searching for the missing teenager, who was found frozen to death on a trail in New Hampshire, said the trip was the young woman’s “coming of age experience”.
Jessie Callaghan paid tribute to the late Emily Sotelo, 19, who was found dead in Franconia Notch State Park on Wednesday after a grueling four-day search.
Callaghan said she went hiking with Sotelo over the summer and believed the young hiker was probably scared and desperate as she tried to descend the mountain before getting lost on her solo trek.
“She clearly had the most dangerous part of the descent behind her,” Callaghan wrote in a Facebook post, noting that Sotelo was found further along the trail from where she was last seen, “but just didn’t make it.” Her body had given up. So close.’
“It was her birthday,” Callaghan added of Sotelo leaving for the trip days before her 20th birthday.
Callaghan added that Sotelo’s mother was waiting for them in the parking lot after dropping them off at the start of the trail.
“I know I only met her briefly for a magical interlude in the woods,” Callaghan wrote. ‘I’ll talk a few miles. But her joy when I met her brought me joy. It just sucks that it got wiped out.
While a cause of death has not yet been confirmed by an autopsy, police believe she died from exposure.
Emily Sotelo, originally from Massachusetts, made it to her intended destination but eventually succumbed to freezing temperatures. Her body was found on Wednesday, on her 20th birthday
Fellow hiker Jessie Callaghan (above), who met Sotelo over the summer, said the young hiker was likely terrified and desperate as she attempted to descend the mountain before getting lost on her solo trek
Friends are now paying tribute to the 19-year-old, whose goal was to climb all 48 of New Hampshire’s peaks before her 20th birthday.
“She climbed all three peaks she wanted and unfortunately on the descent she missed the turn off that’s hard to find on a windy day or just in general,” said her friend and fellow hiker Brian Garvey.
“This happened back in 2021 at the exact same spot where she went off track. Luckily these guys found out by unfreezing their phone under their armpit and SAR found them before they froze.”
Callaghan remarked, “She was sweet and so happy to be out in the woods. She was young and ready to do anything.”
Sotelo’s body, officials said, was found on the northwest face of Mount Lafayette, within the boundaries of Franconia Notch State Park, where she had set out for a hike four days earlier. It’s not yet known when or how she died, but officials said Wednesday it was likely due to exposure
The extended four-day search effort, they added, was “hampered by strong winds, cold temperatures and blowing snow” – ultimately proving suspicions that Sotelo could not have survived the conditions alone.
After the grim discovery, officials called in a National Guard helicopter to retrieve Sotelo’s body from the mountain face.
Fish and Game Commissioner David Walsh warned hikers of the dangers of hiking the state’s notorious White Mountains, which are widely regarded as treacherous in winter.
“The biggest lesson learned in a tragedy like this is when hiking in New Hampshire, especially in the White Mountains, be prepared for the unexpected,” he told WMUR-TV.
During their search, officials said, temperatures dropped to “roughly zero,” with wind speeds increasing the chilling factor to -30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Walsh warned others with plans to climb the dangerous mountain range to take necessary precautions and take seriously the dangers that come with the winter season.
Officials’ four-day search, they added, was “hampered by strong winds, cold temperatures and blowing snow” – ultimately proving their suspicions that Sotelo could not have survived the conditions on his own
“Be expertly prepared,” the officer said. “Know the weather conditions. Dress appropriately for the weather conditions. Do you have extra clothes. Have extra food, water. Have a headlamp map, a compass.’
New Hampshire conservation officials said at 11:15 a.m. search parties found the body of Sotelo, a 5-foot-3-inch student at Vanderbilt University. An avid hiker, she had come close to her goal of conquering New Hampshire’s 48 peaks over 4,000 feet before April 20
Sotelo, her parents said, had planned to hike various trails in the area but wasn’t dressed for the freezing cold weather that set in shortly after she left.
Temperatures dropped to “about zero,” with wind speed increasing the chilling factor to -30 degrees Fahrenheit, officials with the Pemigewasset Valley search and rescue team said Sunday as they began their search.
Fish and Game officers and volunteers from more than a dozen search and rescue teams would then spend the next few days combing the area with planes and sniffer dogs, eventually finding a lead and items that Sotelo found in the upper reaches of the Lafayette Brook Tuesday afternoon had left .
However, by nightfall, officials downgraded their efforts from a rescue mission to one related to a just recovery.
“Pemi has three teams tonight looking for this missing hiker,” the search team said in a post on Facebook at the time.
Officials said Wednesday that Sotelo, an avid hiker, was close to meeting her goal of conquering New Hampshire’s 48 peaks over 4,000 feet before she turned 20.
“Sunday night weather conditions were single digit temperatures, 40 to 60 mph winds, blowing snow and she was not dressed appropriately for those temperatures,” Walsh told WMUR-TV on Wednesday.
“These are extreme conditions and then she went astray.”
Sotelo was a sophomore in biochemistry and chemical biology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
In a letter to students on Wednesday, Vice Provost GL Black mourned the loss of Sotelo and noted how she had become an active member of the community since transferring from the College of William & Mary earlier this year.
Mount Lafayette peaks at 5,260 feet and the surrounding trail has been rated “Difficult” by 4000Footers.com. It’s in the state’s infamous White Mountains, a mountain range that’s generally considered treacherous in winter
Emily was last seen Sunday morning after her mother dropped her off at a trailhead near Mount Lafayette, where her body was eventually found