In a hopeful turn of events after days of uncertainty, search and rescue teams have recovered a missing Dominican hiker alive from the slopes of Pico Duarte, more than two days after he became separated from his hiking group during a descent.
Dalvi Remigio Concepción, a resident of Santo Domingo East, went missing on Friday while his party traveled down the country’s tallest peak. What followed was a large-scale coordinated search operation across the rugged terrain of Armando Bermúdez National Park, which ultimately led authorities to Concepción in the remote Bahito zone of the protected area.
Alex Corona, the administrator of Armando Bermúdez National Park, confirmed in an official statement that the hiker is currently receiving on-site medical care from emergency response teams. Per Corona’s update, Concepción is scheduled to be airlifted to a formal medical facility for further evaluation this Monday, with the transfer only contingent on favorable weather conditions to allow safe helicopter operations.
Officials familiar with the search operation detailed how rescuers narrowed down Concepción’s location. After he got separated from his group along the hiking corridor between Valle del Lilís and La Compartición, search crews systematically combed the trail, tracking faint clues that ultimately led them to the hiker. Key pieces of evidence included markers of an overnight campsite that Concepción had set up to wait out his unplanned isolation, plus a discarded pair of gloves and a hat that helped rescuers confirm they were on the right trail and pinpoint his exact position.