By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI
PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. (April 28) -- A 17-year-old Eagle Scout lost for three nights around the highest mountain in the Northeast was found safe and well Tuesday.
Fish and Game Dept. Major Tim Acerno said rescuers were bringing Scott Mason down to safety.
Mason, of Halifax, Mass., headed up Mount Washington early Saturday and was planning to hike 17 challenging miles in one day.
The 6,288-foot mountain is notorious for its unpredictable and often treacherous weather, including the highest surface wind speed ever recorded on Earth - 231 mph.
Searchers had been following intermittent boot tracks consistent with someone who was disoriented or lost, Acerno said.
Acerno said searchers in six teams of four were using ropes and temporary bridges as they approached the area from two directions, but were having difficulty moving in waist-deep, soft snow.
Acerno said the unusually warm, humid weather worked for and against Mason - searchers weren't worried about hypothermia, but they said the melting snow had led to high rivers that would be difficult for him to cross.
Mason's family were gathered at the visitor center, studying a terrain model of the White Mountains as Acerno communicated by radio with rescuers.
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