Nearly six months after a Quebec hiker vanished in the Adirondack Mountains, New York state authorities confirmed the discovery of his body over the weekend.
The body of Leo Dufour, a 22-year-old man from Vaudreuil, Que., a suburb west of Montreal, was found off Allen Mountain trail in Essex County, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) confirmed in a statement Sunday.
U.S. officials say it was a group of hikers that found his remains on Saturday morning and reported it to authorities.
New York State Police responded to the scene, working alongside forest rangers and a DEC investigator. On Sunday, they confirmed the man’s identity.
The DEC offered its condolences to Dufour’s family and thanked forest rangers for their tireless efforts in the last few months.
The 22-year-old was reported missing after he never returned home from a one-day hike on Nov. 30, 2024.
Police found his snow-covered car at the trailhead in December, but said tracking him was tough due to the recent snowfall.
Search parties from multiple agencies looked for him over several weeks, but were ultimately forced to suspend the effort as worsening winter conditions made the search too dangerous to continue during the months that followed.
They resumed this spring after snow receded across the Adirondack backcountry.
Dufour had travelled to the U.S. to hike the Allen Mountain in the town of Newcomb on Nov. 29, 2024.
’46ers club’: Dufour had climbed 32 of the 46 Adirondack high peaks
His social media profile said he was a student at Université de Montréal and showed him enjoying the outdoors.
He posted photos and videos of himself doing a lot of hiking, camping, enjoying the beach and travelling Europe.
One album on his Instagram profile titled “46ers Club” showed he had climbed 32 of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks — a group of mountains in New York state, each rising at least 4,000 feet in elevation.
The ambitious goal of summiting all 46 peaks is a popular challenge among avid hikers.
His last documented hike in the album was Mount Colden — the 11th-highest peak in New York, with an elevation of 4,714 feet.
Allen Mountain, where his body was found, is the 26th-highest of the Adirondack High Peaks, with an elevation of 4,340 feet.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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