The Ulster County community is mourning the loss of a father and daughter from Ulster Park who were found dead on a mountain in Maine, where they had gone hiking on June 1.
They were identified by authorities as Tim Keiderling, 58, and his daughter, Esther Keiderling, 28.
USA Today reported the father and daughter were last seen leaving their campground in Baxter State Park, on their way to the summit of Mount Katahdin, around 10 a.m. June 1.
Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine, is located within the park.
A search and rescue mission for the Keiderlings began on June 2, after their car was spotted in the mountain’s day-use parking lot.
Park rangers, K-9 crews, game wardens and the Maine Forest Service were involved in the extensive ground and air search. The Maine National Guard used two helicopters, a Blackhawk and a Lakota, in the search.
A Marine Warden K-9 search team found Tim Keiderling’s body near the summit around 2:45 p.m. June 3, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Esther’s body was found around 1 p.m. June 4 in a wooded area of Katahdin’s Tableland, according to Baxter State Park officials.
Their deaths are being mourned on social media by many who knew them.
“All of us at the Town of Esopus are heartbroken by the loss of Tim and Esther Keiderling,” the town said in a Facebook post. “They were a cherished part of our community and we grieve alongside their family and our friends at the Bruderhof.”
“Through their work on our Parks and Recreation Committee, Tim and Esther brought joy to so many,” the Esopus Facebook post continued. “Their warmth, kindness and dedication were unmatched and will be deeply missed.”
“We will continue to honor their memory by serving our community with the same spirit of dedication and generosity they shared with us,” the Esopus post concluded.
Heinrich Arnold of the Bruderhof Communities said in a Facebook post that the community is “grateful for the outpouring of prayers and support.”
“This afternoon we heard the anticipated — but nonetheless deeply painful — news that the search team on Katahdin Mountain in Maine found Esther, who also succumbed to exposure near where Tim was discovered,” Arnold said in his Facebook post.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy, difficult to fully grasp,” Arnold continued. “Both were taken from us far too soon, and we are all left asking: ‘Why?’ Only God knows the answer. One comfort to the family is 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.”
“We will face this tragic loss together, with tears and also with faith in Jesus and the resurrection,” Arnold’s post concluded.
The Keiderlings also were being mourned at Rifton, a company that makes adaptive equipment for people with disabilities, where they both worked. Tim Keiderling worked for Rifton as a sales and customer service representative since Sept. 2020 and Esther Keiderling joined the company in 2023, and worked as a product trainer and educator.
“Tim presented hundreds of in-service and product trainings to customers all over the United States,” Rifton said in a Facebook post. “Esther joined him on some of these. Anyone who attended one of these sessions can’t help but remember Tim’s lively presence and the joy and fulfillment both he and Esther found in helping all of you serve the children and adults in your care.”
“Thank you for your concern for their family and your prayers in these difficult days,” the Rifton post concluded.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: NY community ‘heartbroken’ by loss of father and daughter who died hiking in Maine
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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