Family says father and daughter found dead on Maine hike were passionate about the mountains.

A father and daughter from New York were found deceased on a mountain in Maine this week after planning their hike during a work trip. Tim Keiderling, 58, from Ulster Park, was discovered dead Tuesday in the Tablelands area of Mount Katahdin. The body of his 28-year-old daughter, Esther Keiderling, was located the following afternoon, approximately 1,000 feet away between two trails off the Tablelands. Tim was a devoted father of six and a grandfather to two, sharing a particularly close bond with Esther, as noted by his brother, Joe Keiderling.

Both Tim and Esther worked for Rifton Equipment, a medical supply company based in New York. Joe described Tim as “utterly unique” and a retired elementary school teacher who captivated children with his imaginative stories about the natural world in the Hudson Valley. In his spare time, Tim enjoyed gardening and cared for fruit crops like strawberries and blueberries. He was also a beekeeper.

His faith played a significant role in his life; he was involved with the Bruderhof Communities, a Christian group that shares all possessions. He was known for his contributions during church gatherings, where he used his storytelling skills to make biblical lessons relevant to contemporary life. Esther was described as quiet yet deeply sensitive. She had a passion for reading and writing, with interests in poets such as Gerard Manley Hopkins and Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Esther maintained a blog on WordPress and wrote for Substack. On Saturday, she disclosed that she and her father were in Maine for a sales trip and had planned a hike, expressing some apprehension about the Abol Trail. The park reported that they went missing after departing from Abol Campground on Sunday to summit the mountain, a route classified as very strenuous. Authorities initiated an extensive search when their vehicle was discovered in a day-use parking lot.

A medical examiner will determine the cause of death, and officials have stated there is no evidence of criminal activity while investigating why their bodies were discovered separately.