Esther Keiderling, whose dad also died on the Mount Katahdin hike in Maine, reportedly died of blunt force trauma
NEED TO KNOW
- The Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has reportedly released the cause of death for hiker Esther Keiderling, who died in early June during a Mount Katahdin trail hike
- The 28-year-old hiker’s cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma, per News 10 ABC, WGME CBS 13 and WABI 5
- Her dad Tim Keiderling’s cause of death has not yet been listed
More details are emerging in the deaths of Tim and Esther Keiderling, the dad and daughter who died on a trail hike in Maine this month.
A medical examiner revealed that the cause of death for Esther, 28, was from blunt force trauma, while father’s cause of death has not yet been shared, reported News 10 ABC, WGME CBS 13 and WABI 5.
Esther may have slid down the terrain with an uncontrollable force as her remains were found in a snow covered boulder field below the Cathedral Cut-off Trail, News Center Maine reported.
PEOPLE reached out to the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on June 14 for additional details, but did not receive an immediate response.
News Center Maine added that witnesses told investigators that Tim, 58, and Esther, were continuing their climb when harsh weather conditions, including wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour. A mixture of sleet, rain and snow reportedly also impacted the father and daughter as wind chills dropped into the teens, and hypothermia was a high risk.
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Investigators also said that the Keiderlings did reach the summit of Saddle Trail but veered off course during their descent, the outlet continued.
Tim and Esther, both of Ulster Park, N.Y., were last seen on June 1 at around 10:15 a.m. local time. The duo had set out from the Abol Campground to hike Mount Katahdin, according to a statement from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Days later, on June 3, authorities updated the statement, writing that a Maine Warden Service K9 search team found Tim’s body near the summit of the mountain, but his daughter remained missing.
The organization updated the statement again the following day on June 4, announcing that searchers had found Esther’s body.
Tim’s brother-in-law Heinrich Arnold posted on the family’s New York-based church, that the deaths had been “difficult to fully grasp.” He continued, “Both were taken from us far too soon, and we are all left asking: ‘Why?’ ”
Arnold thanked the community for the outpouring of support and shared what was giving the family solace as they mourned the father of six and Esther.
“One comfort to the family is knowing that Tim and Esther were doing something they both were passionate about: being near to God, surrounded by expansive views and visions, immersed in nature, in the raw and wild beauty of creation,” Arnold said.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for further updates on June 14.
