N.Y. hiker missing in Franconia

By LORNA COLQUHOUN
Union Leader Correspondent

FRANCONIA — What began as a Sunday afternoon walk for a Brooklyn, N.Y., rabbi and his wife to Artists Bluff in Franconia Notch evolved into a massive search for the man that drew busloads of Hassidic Jews from New York and Canada to assist in the effort.

By sundown yesterday, there had been no sign of Abraham Hauer, 53, described by friends as the kind and gentle rabbi in charge of the synagogue at the Arlington Hotel in Bethlehem, where, for decades, Orthodox Jews from New York City have vacationed. Family members said a vest found in the woods during the search belonged to Hauer, but there was no confirmation of that by officials.

The parking lot of Echo Lake State Park was the staging point for the search and throughout the morning, busloads of young men arrived from Hassidic communities in Brooklyn and Monroe, N.Y., and Montreal to take part in the search. By mid-afternoon, Hauer’s family put up a $10,000 reward for his safe return.

“We’re hoping and praying for his return in the next couple of hours,” said Aaron Hauer, the missing man’s brother, adding that the reward is an “incentive” for people to help search for the man.

At sundown, Hauer’s wife, Milkah, brought searchers back up to Artists Bluff, to the point where she turned back Sunday afternoon.

“We very much hope he won’t spend another night out here,” Aaron Hauer said yesterday evening. “This was helpful to show (searchers) where she went, as that gives them an idea.”

Both the offices of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., called the state’s Fish and Game Department to express their concern about Hauer, said Pamela Walsh, a spokesman for Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.

“It’s my understanding they urged us to make it a priority, which of course we were doing,” she said. Messages left last night with Sen. Lieberman’s offices in Washington and Connecticut were not immediately returned. Mayor Giuliani’s office also failed to return a telephone call.

Hauer and his wife, who have been coming to Bethlehem for years, went to Artists Bluff late Sunday afternoon to make the 15 to 20 minute climb to the top of the bluff. But, said Fish and Game Lt. Marty Garabedian, she tired after a few minutes and returned to their vehicle. When he had not returned by 6 p.m., she called police and a search of the area began just after 6:30 p.m.

“He is the first one to come to Bethlehem and open the synagogue and he is the last to leave,” said Samuel Simsovitz, a friend of Hauer’s.

When conservation officers found no immediate sign of Hauer, the Jewish community called for help and shortly after midnight yesterday, a mobile command post, Hatzolah, arrived from Brooklyn. The huge vehicle, ironically, was donated to the community by the family of a girl who was missing for several days in Massachusetts several years ago. Associated with the unit are about 800 volunteers trained in emergency medical services, including a group of about 50 trained in search and rescue.

By mid-morning, fog and a warm rain settled into the Notch, precluding a helicopter search until mid-afternoon. Those arriving in the morning who were outfitted in appropriate gear were dispatched to search trails and bike paths.

Meanwhile, men dressed in traditional clothing of the faith — dark clothing, white shirts and street shoes, awaited the arrival of rain gear and rubber boots. One man said the purchases, from the Littleton Wal-Mart, were paid from a $5,000 donation by one of the members of the Hassidic community. Throughout the day, others within the community put up money to pay for food and other supplies.

“This is a normal turnout,” Aaron Hauer said.

Hassidic officials said the massive turnout was not unusual — it would happen no matter who in the community was missing.

During the afternoon, a number of line searches took place, consisting of dozens of the Jewish volunteers, by then outfitted in brightly colored plastic rain ponchos and black rubber boots trimmed in red.

“This is probably the first time many of them have worn such brightly colored clothes,” one woman observed.

As searchers were needed, they gathered in groups, where Jacob Weingarten, one of the Hassidic coordinators from Brooklyn, issued instructions in Yiddish through a bullhorn.

Officials were optimistic that Hauer would be able to survive the first night in the woods.

“It was warm (Sunday) night,” Garabedian said. “But it was windy and that drowned out the sound of our voices.”

Conservation officers coordinated the line searches and Garabedian said the assistance from the Hassidic community was valuable, but there were some initial concerns that those taking part were not properly dressed for the wet conditions.

Artists Bluff is a popular hike at the northern end of Franconia Notch.

“Thousands of people climb it — it’s a short climb,” said Fish and Game Col. Ron Alie. “But there are kinds of potential to become confused — old ski trails and mountain bike trails. Even though it is a small place on a map, our search and rescue teams say it is some thick in there. There’s ice storm damage from 1998 and there is some tough going — it’s easy to become confused.”

The line searches ended just before sunset yesterday. At about 6 p.m., the State Police helicopter, equipped with an infrared device that detects body heat, arrived, joining the Blackhawk helicopter from the New Hampshire Army National Guard in Concord.

After dark, when the woods were cleared, dogs from New England Canine Search and Rescue were brought in for the second night to try to find Hauer. If overnight efforts were unsuccessful, the search will resume at sunrise today.

“We are going to find him, we have a great deal of help,” said Alie, with praise to the Hassidic community. “The cooperation is outstanding.”

“This community sticks together,” Weingarten said.

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By STEPHEN FROTHINGHAM
Associated Press

FRANCONIA — The body of a missing New York hiker was found around midday Tuesday after three days of searching by state officials and hundreds of Orthodox Jews.

The body of Abraham Hauer, 53, of Brooklyn, was discovered about 200 yards from a vest believed to be his that was found Monday by searchers, Fish and Game Col. Ron Alie said.

Hauer did not return from what was supposed to be a short hike with his wife Sunday afternoon in part of the White Mountains near ledges and a cliff called Artist’s Bluff.

Hundreds of Jews from New York, New Jersey and Montreal arrived in buses in the past two days to join in the search, along with 80 searchers from Fish and Game, the National Guard and local volunteers.

Five teams using dogs searched through the night, and two state and National Guard helicopters also were used.

Alie said the vest was found about a half-mile from where Hauer had been headed on his hike with his wife.

Hauer was well-known to Jewish tourists as manager of a synagogue in Bethlehem, a small town about 10 miles north that long has been a summer retreat for Orthodox Jews from New York.

Have they released anything yet about how he died? I hiked up to artist bluff for the first time about two weeks ago to watch the meteor shower. We started our hike around 11pm and came down a little after 1am. We had no problem at all staying on the trail and it was dark when we went. I'm just curious how this man could have gotten so lost, especially in the daylight.

Looks like it was a heart attack:

Missing rabbi
found dead
By LORNA COLQUHOUN
Union Leader Correspondent

FRANCONIA — Halfway through the second day of an intensive search in Franconia Notch for a missing rabbi that involved hundreds of Hassidic Jews from two countries, his body was found yesterday on the back side of Artists Bluff.

He died of an apparent heart attack.

The rabbi, Abraham Hauer, 53, of New York City and his wife, Milka, struck out late Sunday afternoon to make the popular and easy hike, which affords a southern view of Echo Lake and the Notch. She turned back after a few minutes on the trail, while he continued to the top. When he did not return by 6 p.m., Milka Hauer summoned authorities.

Searchers, including state officials and hundreds of young men from Hassidic communities in Brooklyn, Monroe, N.Y., and Montreal, combed the area well into the night Sunday and Monday.

They remained optimistic early yesterday morning that Hauer was alive, although they feared he may have become because of injury or exhaustion. Later he announced in a voice heavy with emotion, “We have found Abraham and he is not alive.”

It was a sad and abrupt end to one of the most intensive searches in recent years.

Within eight hours of Hauer’s disappearance, a mobile command post was dispatched to the Notch from the Hassidic community in Brooklyn, as well as an ambulance from Montreal.

By mid-morning Monday, busloads of Hassidic Jews rolled into the staging area at Echo Lake, filled with earnest young men in traditional dark clothing, ready to take to the woods in search of a man many did not even know. They were allowed to take part in line searches only after the purchase of thousands of dollars of suitable foot gear and rain ponchos.

“We believe life is sacred and that if we save one life, we save the world,” said Steve Feldheim, a volunteer with the command post, Hazolah, which is Hebrew for ‘help.’

“When word comes that someone needs help, people close up their shops or tell their bosses they will not be into work,” he said. “We would do this for every individual and everyone is united.”

Hauer was in charge of the synagogue at the Arlington Hotel in nearby Bethlehem, where generations of Orthodox Jews from New York have spent their summer vacations. Those who knew him described him as kind and gentle and their concern for him was almost tangible.

A team of Fish and Game conservation officers, searchers from the Department of Resources and Economic Development and the U.S. Forest found Hauer’s body off the trail, Alie said. It was in a densely wooded area near Lafayette Brook, about 200 yards from where a vest believed to have belonged to Hauer was discovered Monday afternoon.

A medical examiner dispatched to the scene determined that Hauer died of a heart attack, according to Dr. Thomas Andrew, state medical examiner. There were no signs of an assault and nothing of a suspicious nature, officials said. Hauer’s body was then released to the Jewish community, which by religious tradition avoids autopsies under most circumstances. Community members planned to escort the body back to his home in the Orthodox Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, where tradition dictates that a body must be buried within 24 hours of death.

Issac Abraham, a spokesman for the family, said a funeral was held last night in front of the Hauer family home in Brooklyn. Burial was to be in the Rockland County community of Kiryas Joel.

A ceremony also was held in Bethlehem last night, attended by several of the state officials involved in the search, including Alie.

State law mandates an investigation into unattended deaths in New Hampshire, but not an autopsy, which is left to the discretion of the medical examiner, Andrew said.

Hauer’s death touched the hundreds of people who came out to help.

“We tried our best,” said Moses Witriol, one of the coordinators who worked with searchers. “We have sent paramedics to be with the family and they are very sad — they had thought for a better (ending), but it was up to someone higher. We tried our best. Let’s hope it never comes to that again.”

As the search went into its second day yesterday, officials were baffled that Hauer could not be found in a relatively small area of the Notch, bounded by roads and Interstate 93.

“The longer this goes on, the bigger the question mark,” Alie said yesterday morning, describing the search area as being a little less than 2 miles at its widest point.

After spending the night at the National Guard Armory in Littleton, five busloads of Jewish searchers rolled into the overflow parking lot at Cannon Mountain just after 9 a.m. Each group of 10 was escorted by three members of the National Guard, who hastily trained the groups about line searching in the lot, before heading out to areas that needed to be covered.

“The level of cooperation received from the volunteers has been stupendous,” Alie said. “We had 250 people on the ground at 11 a.m. and 50 to 75 people on the roadsides.”

As well as ground volunteers, the search involved helicopters from the Army National Guard in Concord and State Police and dog teams from New England Canine Search and Rescue.

Orthodox Jews have been coming to Bethlehem for more than 60 years and it has nothing to do with the northern New England town’s biblical name. Bethlehem, the birthtown of the Christian messiah, holds little importance in the Jewish faith.

Rather, it was the relief from hay fever and a desire to get away from the stuffy city air that started the annual vacation for many New York and Canadian Jews.

In return for their patronage, Bethlehem residents and businesses have made their small town very friendly to the annual religious migration. The Arlington hotel caters to the ultra-Orthodox Jews’ strict kosher diet. It fixes food in the “glatt kosher” style, the strictest of those diets.

Other motels in the area offer places to pray and have screened-in pools with separate swimming areas for men and women.

The first groups to go to Bethlehem to avoid allergies called themselves the Hebrew Hay Relief Association.

(Union Leader reporter Gary Dennis contributed to this report.)

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