Hiker Self Rescues Along Appalachian Trail

CONTACT:
Conservation Officer Sgt. Matthew Holmes
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
6/25/2025

Shelburne, NH – On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 25, 2025, rescuers responded to the Rattle River Section of the Appalachian Trail to make contact with a hiker who had activated an emergency beacon.

At approximately 2:30 p.m., New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officers were alerted that a Garmin device was sending an emergency signal from the area of Middle Moriah Mountain along the Rattle River Trail. There was no cell service in the area, but the subscriber to the device was able to send a text message saying that she was all alone, had fallen, and was bleeding.

Upon plotting the GPS coordinates for the device, authorities learned that it was approximately 4.5 miles into the woods from US Route 2. A team of volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team (AVSAR) was quickly deployed to try and make contact with the hiker while Conservation Officers responded from various parts of Coos County.

Shortly after 4:00 p.m., AVSAR volunteers made contact with the hiker approximately 0.5 miles from US Route 2. The hiker was assessed and then brought out to the trailhead to meeting a waiting ambulance from Gorham. Once roadside, she was taken by ambulance to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin to treat a significant laceration.

The hiker was identified as 67-year-old Milglena Gaberova of London, England. Gaberova was hiking the Appalachian Trail, having done 1,700 miles of the trail the previous year and over 100 miles this year. Her physical fitness and “can-do” attitude got her to treatment quickly and helped save rescuers from an arduous extraction out of the woods.