Conservation officers were notified of a hiker suffering from a potentially serious medical condition

SHELBURNE, N.H. — On Saturday at 1:10 p.m., Fish & Game conservation officers were notified of a hiker suffering from a potentially serious medical condition on the Carter-Moriah Trail near the summit of Mt. Moriah. Due to the nature of the symptoms, and being five miles from the nearest road, a request was made to the N.H. Army National Guard for a helicopter extraction of the hiker. A Blackhawk flew up from Concord, but due to the storm cells and thunderheads that formed over the mountain just prior to the helicopter’s arrival, it was unable to safely extract the patient. When the call for the Blackhawk was made an additional call for volunteer rescuers was made to Androscoggin Valley Search & Rescue (AVSAR) as a backup in the event the helicopter was unable to extract the hiker. Several AVSAR volunteers responded and hiked in the nearly five miles with a rescue litter. The hiker, identified as Stephen Fredericks, 49, of Chelmsford, Mass., was placed into the litter and carried out by the AVSAR volunteers, conservation officers, and his eight hiking companions. The rescue crew arrived at the trailhead on Sunday at 12:35 a.m. Fredericks was then transported to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin by Gorham Ambulance.