Missing NYC hiker who signaled for help found dead in New Hampshire mountains

LANCASTER, N.H. (WABC) -- A hiker, cut off from help by brutal weather conditions, has been found dead in New Hampshire's White Mountains.

New York City resident Kate Matrosova activated an emergency personal locator beacon Sunday night, but rescue crews couldn't reach her overnight because of extreme wind and subzero temperatures.

Monday morning, a crew of volunteers braved 100 mile an hour winds and frigid conditions to reach the area.

They say it appears Matrosova died of exposure to the extreme temperatures.

The body was found between Mount Madison and Mount Adams, part of a series of summits named after presidents and other prominent Americans and called the Presidential Range, the state's Fish and Game Department said.

Matrosova had been dropped off by her husband early Sunday morning at the base of the mountains. She was alone and planned to hike the top of Mount Madison, WMUR-TV said, before heading through Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson and Mount Washington, which at about 6,300 feet is the highest peak in the Northeast.

She activated the beacon, which sent her coordinates to rescuers, on Sunday afternoon.

"Unfortunately, a lot of the coordinates that we received over the night were all over the place within a mile circumference," Fish and Game Lt. Jim Goss told WMUR-TV.

A National Guard crew flew over the area with a helicopter on Monday morning but couldn't see anything because of blowing snow and had to turn back.

"I guess if you are gonna hike in this type of weather you need to be in a more sheltered area, not up on an open exposed ridgeline," Goss said. "There's just no room for error in a place like that."

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)