Bear Mountain Hiker Found Dead After Slipping and Falling Into The Water

On August 9, 2022, at approximately 9:00 p.m. New York State Police and New York State Park Police responded to Bear Mountain State Park in the town of Highlands for a report of a missing hiker.

Investigation revealed that the lost hiker, identified as Omar Benitez, age 23, from the city of White Plains, NY was hiking with two friends when he became separated from them.

Troopers and park police along with their Bloodhound searched the area until 2:45 a.m. with negative results. The search was terminated due to darkness and safety reasons.

The search resumed later that morning on August 10, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. The search was conducted with New York State Investigators and uniformed members, New York State Police Unmanned Aerial Surveillance (UAS-drone unit), New York State Park Police, New York State Police Aviation Unit, New York State Police Underwater Recovery Unit (URT), and the New York State Special Operations Response Team (SORT) all assisted with the search.

Benitez’s body was located at approximately 10 a.m. in Popolopen Creek. Additional investigation revealed that Omar Benitez slipped and fell into the water. There were no signs of foul play.

This is an ongoing investigation.