Hiker from Boston finds his way after being lost overnight off N.H. trail

By Ava Sasani Globe Correspondent,Updated October 31, 2021, 5:49 p.m.

A 31-year-old Boston man found his way out of the woods Sunday after he went missing one day earlier while hiking the Rocky Branch Trail in Jackson, N. H., New Hampshire Fish and Game Department officials said.

Michael Papale was hiking to Mount Isolation with friends Saturday when he stopped before the summit, officials said in a statement. The rest of the group continued on without Papale, and planned to meet him on the way down, but on their descent they discovered that Papale was gone, according to the statement.

Papale left items on the trail to signal to his friends that he was descending the mountain, but when the group returned to their vehicle, he was not there, officials said.

Around 8 p.m., the group alerted conservation authorities, who searched for Papale through the night, amid heavy rain, officials said.