‘Cocoon of love’ has helped family heal in year since father-daughter hikers died on Katahdin
By Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News Staff
A year after two hikers died on Katahdin, their family returned to the area to thank the rangers who found the pair after a multi-day search.
Tim Keiderling, 58, and Esther Keiderling, 28, attempted to hike Katahdin on June 1, 2025, when they likely encountered extreme conditions on Maine’s tallest mountain. A search started the next morning for the father and daughter. They were found dead days later, after multiple agencies conducted a large air and ground search.
On Thursday, some of the Keiderlings’ surviving family members went to Millinocket to meet with Baxter State Park rangers and people from other agencies who were involved in the search. The family wanted to commemorate the anniversary of Tim and Esther’s deaths and thank the searchers, said Joe Keiderling, Tim’s brother.
The Keiderling family lives in Ulster County, New York, about an eight-hour drive from Baxter State Park. Tim’s widow, Annemarie Keiderling, as well as three of her and Tim’s adult children and a close family friend, made the trip.
ONE YEAR LATER — Esther Keiderling, left, and Tim Keiderling, right. The father daughter duo died while hiking Katahdin on May 31, 2025. Their family returned to Maine this year to thank the park rangers who helped in the search.
It was remarkable how well the park rangers worked together and alongside other agencies, Joe Keiderling said.
“The main thing was that they were just such a caring group of people,” he said. “That meant the most.”
Baxter State Park Director Kevin Adam was incredibly welcoming and showed great concern for the family during the search and after, Joe Keiderling said. Hearing from people involved in the search was very meaningful.
“We’re very fortunate to have people like that up here,” he said.
It’s been a really hard year, Joe Keiderling said. The family is part of a close-knit Christian community, which has helped the family cope, he said.
“We’re just so fortunate that we’re surrounded by this kind of cocoon of love and concern and and caring,” Joe Keiderling said. “That has really carried us through this year. But there’s no question it’s been a really, really tough year.”
The family is not alone in their grief and that is helpful to know, he said. Esther Keiderling was an aspiring writer and her sisters are putting together a book of her works, a process that has been very healing, Joe Keiderling said. The book, “My Soul Comes With Me,” is named after a line in one of her poems.
Tim and Esther planned to hike up Abol Trail and down Hunt Trail and would have encountered rain, snow, heavy winds and freezing wind chill temperatures during their ascent.
Tim Keiderling was found on the Tablelands region on June 3 and died from complications of hypothermia.
Esther Keiderling was found on June 4 in a boulder area between the Cathedral and Saddle Trails off the Tablelands, roughly 1,000 feet from where her father was found. She died from blunt force injuries after she likely fell onto the rocks, officials said.