Family who left 80-year-old alone on New Hampshire mountain may get billed for rescue

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Family who left 80-year-old alone on New Hampshire mountain may get billed for rescue

James Clark, of Dublin, Ohio, was attempting to climb Lion Head Trail in Sargent’s Purchase when two family members left him behind, officials said.

June 18, 2019, 3:23 PM EDT
By Minyvonne Burke

New Hampshire officials are considering billing the family of an 80-year-old hiker for the costs of his hourslong rescue mission, saying he was unprepared to hike in dangerous weather. ... They are also weighing criminal charges against two family members who had left the man to hike alone.

James Clark was found Thursday night on Mount Washington in New Hampshire in a fetal position and showing signs of hypothermia "to the point of not being able to speak any clear or discernible words," the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a press release.

Clark, of Dublin, Ohio, was attempting to climb Lion Head Trail in Sargent’s Purchase with two family members when they left him behind, officials said. The family members ascended the summit of Mount Washington without Clark and later descended using a different trail.

They became worried and called rescue personnel around 7:45 p.m. Thursday when Clark had not reached the summit. The family members told authorities that Clark did not have overnight gear and was not carrying a cellphone or a light.
....

[samnsara]

1. holy smokes isnt that the coldest or windiest spot in america?

..yes they need to be billed and charged!

[maveric]

9. Windiest

[Sanity Claws]

2. They left him behind?

Then took a different trail?
I wonder if they wanted to kill him and collect insurance.

[Maine-i-acs]

3. Elder abuse sounds about right if they are looking for a proper charge

did they want him to die?
if they left a kid or a golden retriever out in the woods, there would be a huge s**tstorm

[Kaleva]

4. The other two family members are age 19 and 14. 80 y/o claims responsibility

"Clark told the Union Leader that the family members he was with were his grandsons, ages 19 and 14, and they had planned for the two teenagers to hike at their own pace and let Clark catch up later. He said they had done that before while hiking in New York and Vermont.

“If anybody’s at fault, it’s definitely me and not those boys,” Clark said. "I’m the one who has insisted that they go ahead. So any negligence was on my part.”"

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/family-who-left-80-year-old-alone-new-hampshire-mountain-n1019026

[pnwmom]

7. We've had some tough old guys in our family -- one of them still climbing up to repair

his own roof in his nineties.

Some teenage grandson wouldn't have been able to stop him. I think it makes no sense to charge these young relatives who were doing what their grandpa told them to.

[Hav]

5. One really has to read the full story

I was shocked at first as well but the two family members were his grandsons, 14 and 19 years old. He himself was the one who told them to go ahead and he'd catch up with them later as it was planned. It's the stuff you say sometimes to not be a burden and when you think you'll still make it. I don't think there will and should be charges against them, certainly not against the 14 year old.

[emmaverybo]

6. I think they probably did not understand how easily elderly can deteriorate in adverse weather

conditions. Elderly lose their sense of being too hot or cold. Grandpa might appear fit to them. They don’t have any medical knowledge as to how extreme weather can affect elderly, or that underlying health conditions don’t necessarily manifest themselves.
James Fixx, who helped start the fitness craze dropped dead while jogging. He was conditioned, fit, but had heart disease.

[pnwmom]

8. Why would they bill the teenagers and not the competent adult who planned the trip?

Yeah, the 80 year old over-estimated his abilities. But that doesn't mean he has dementia or that the grandsons should be responsible for his decisions.

[sl8]

10. Lion Head Trail

From https://www.outdoorproject.com/united-states/new-hampshire/mount-washington-lion-head-trail-summer-route

[...]While many beginners should have no problem on Tuckerman's Ravine Trail, the same cannot be said for Lion Head Trail. If you are attempting this trail, you should have previous experience scrambling, and you should be strong enough to pull yourself up several rock faces at the mid-way point of a steep hike. Lion Head is the steepest of the trails that lead up the mountain, and because of this it is not a recommended trail to use for descent; stick to Tuckerman's Ravine for that.

[...]

More at link.

[Tarc]

11. A 14 & 19-yr-old are not legally responsible for the actions of another adult

Sorry, bill Grandpa in this case.

[keithbvadu2]

12. There is legal and there is right. They should have gone back to check.

There is legal and there is right.

They should have gone back to check.

[Demovictory9]

13. they were teens following grandad's instructions