Two Mass. hikers found dead in Acadia National Park

A man and a woman from Rutland, Mass. were found dead in Acadia National Park in Maine Saturday after officials believe they fell 100 feet while hiking along ice-covered cliff bands on Dorr Mountain, the National Park Service said.

The man, 28, and the woman, 30, were found by searchers late Saturday morning following an all-night search that included a Coast Guard crew from Cape Cod, the park service said in a statement. Their names have not yet been released.

The pair arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine, on Tuesday. The woman had also told family members over the phone she was interested in hiking Cadillac Mountain.

They were last heard from at about noon on Thursday and concerns grew Friday afternoon when they didn’t check out of their hotel or go back to their car, according to the statement.

The search began that night after family members reported them as overdue. The overnight search included a Coast Guard helicopter from Cape Cod that had “thermal imaging technology which searched for heat signatures on the north and east sides of Dorr and Cadillac Mountains without success,” the statement said.

A ground search began Saturday morning in “areas of high probability” and the pair was found by park service rangers working with volunteers from Mount Desert Island Search and Rescue and a Maine Forest Service helicopter, according to the statement.

Maine State Police and the park service are investigating with assistance from Bar Harbor police.

No further information was immediately available.