ALBANY COUNTY, N.Y. -- It was on this steep terrain that the storms rolled in Wednesday night. And despite the dangers, it was here that retired geologist Akiho Miyashiro, 87, told his wife he was going for a walk. Forty five minutes later, the park was closing and he hadn't returned. Within hours, upward of 100 rescuers were navigating the rocky terrain, thick brush and blinding rain to find him.
“Absolutely treacherous and dangerous,” said Albany County Sheriff’s Department Inspector Mark Defrancesco said. “There were several times that we had to pull crews out of the woods because of the lightning.”
The visibility was too poor for a helicopter and search and rescue dogs couldn't help either.
“It started raining even before we could get a dog up here and that dampers the smell,” Defrancesco said.
The search continued into Thursday morning until three rescuers came to a spot where they couldn't take another step.
The body of a missing elderly man has been found in Thacher State Park. State Police say Akiho Miyashiro, 87, was discovered less than a mile from the Glen Doone Overlook. He was missing for less than two days. But in those hours, the search and recovery effort faced challenges that put even the rescuers at risk. Our Britt Godshalk reports.
“About 300 hundred feet down a cliff and it was in there that the forest rangers found him. It appears that he got lost, that he walked too close to one of the ledges,” Defrancesco said. “It's a mile into the woods, so obviously the fences aren't there any longer. He may not have seen the edge. It's a quick steep drop and then it all rocks and ravine down below and crevices.”
With those challenges, it took another four and a half hours for climbers to get to Miyashiro's body to retrieve it, then make their way back through the dense woods to a clearing.
“We do have personnel down there that have repelled down,” said Defrancesco. “Getting back up is the difficult part.”
From there, the body was taken to Albany Medical Center for an autopsy, but police don't suspect any foul play. They say the man who spent many years studying Mother Nature was only trying to get a good look at her.
“But when you take a step forward to try to get a better look is when it gets more dangerous,” Defrancesco said.