[UPDATE] Hiker Found Dead In Rome Identified

A Mount Vernon man was found dead along a hiking trail in Rome late Thursday night.

Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland says Brian Peters, 57, was last seen at around one o'clock Thursday afternoon when he left a parking area, intending to snowshoe to the top of Round Top Mountain.

When he failed to return, a search was launched. Firefighters found his body just after nine o'clock on trails off the Watson Pond Road.

McCausland originally said Peters may have died of exposure, but in an update late Friday afternoon, he said the hiker may have suffered a medical emergency.

The update said it will be up to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death.

Maine State Police, Game Wardens, Belgrade Rescue, and the Rome Fire Department assisted in the search.