Hiking Mishaps Mar Holiday Weekend
62-Year-Old From Grafton And 15-Year-Old From Massachusetts Require Rescues
Also on today’s menu:
Former Town Employee Charged With Embezzlement
Burglar Caught In The Act
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department was called to two hiking mishaps minutes apart on Monday, Oct. 11. The first, at 2:10 p.m., involved a 15-year-old female hiker from North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, who slipped while on the Welch and Dickey Trail in Thornton, with the second call coming at 2:24 p.m., involving a 62-year-old woman from Grafton, who fell on Mount Cardigan in Alexandria.
The 15-year-old was hiking with a church group when she slipped while descending the summit of Dickey Mountain. The group was able to move her from the summit but could not complete the descent without additional assistance. Volunteers from the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, along with members of Campton-Thornton Fire Rescue, joined the conservation officers in carrying the youth down the trail in a litter. Her injuries were determined to be non-life-threatening, and the group took her back to Massachusetts for treatment.
The woman injured on the Manning Trail on Mount Cardigan was identified as Stephanie Pluhar. She and a family member had made it to the summit of Mount Cardigan, but just beyond the summit of Firescrew, Pluhar fell and injured her lower leg. Other hikers called for assistance on their cellular telephones and provided extra food and clothing to keep her comfortable while waiting for responders from the Alexandria, Bristol, and Bridgewater fire departments. A conservation officer and members of the Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team assisted in carrying Pluhar to the trailhead, and the Bristol Fire Department took her to Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth for further evaluation.
Former Town Employee Charged With Embezzlement
A Belknap County Superior Court Grant Jury has indicted Cynthia J. Calligandes, 64, of Orchards Road, Wolfeboro, on a charge of theft by misapplication for allegedly taking about $17,495 from the Alton Building Department during a 2½-year period, between Jan. 1, 2017, and Oct. 13, 2020, while employed by the town.
An indictment is not an finding of guilt, but is a determination by a grand jury that there is sufficient evidence of a crime to warrant bringing a case to trial.
Calligandes had worked as a secretary in the Building Department for 12 years before being terminated on Sept. 1, 2020, according to Town Administrator Elizabeth Dionne.
Burglar Caught In The Act
Larry Moody, 32, of Bartlett was attempting to break into a safe at the Red Parka Steakhouse and Pub in Glen on Sunday, when an employee arriving to complete some paperwork found him in the building.
Police will be seeking indictments on charges of Class B felony burglary and criminal mischief, according to Bartlett Police Chief Chris Keaton.
Keaton said Moody, who apparently got in through the delivery chute, surrendered peacefully, but after he was cuffed, Moody had a “medical issue” of some kind and an ambulance took him to Memorial Hospital for an assessment.
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