Allenstown News : Bear Brook State Park

Hunter’s body found in park

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:52:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Almost five months after he disappeared into the thick forest and freshly fallen snow of Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, the remains of Russell Bussiere of Hooksett were found.

“It’s huge closure,” said Michael Bussiere, son of the 70- year-old hunter who went into the woods on Dec. 2 and never came out.

A family friend discovered the body on Sunday, April 27, at around 10 a.m. For the past few weeks since the snow melted, the family has organized weekend searches to comb the woods.

The father and son Bussieres were hunting in Bear Brook in separate locations, using global positioning satellite (GPS) devices and planning to meet at noon back at their parking spot.

When Russell Bussiere failed to show a few hours after that, the search began, led by New Hampshire Fish and Game and lasting for about a week straight when daylight would allow.

More than 200 searchers volunteered to brave the freezing temperatures and deep snow, including the Allenstown Police Department, Army National Guard and canine search teams.

The search was suspended when temperatures began to further chill the New England area and all areas of ground in the state park had been covered. Fish and Game also conducted several searches over the winter months.

Authorities used line sweeps and GPS mapping to make sure they’d hit all of those areas.

Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said the remains were put through DNA testing and fingerprint comparison. His remains were positively identified on Monday, April 28.

The remains were found in clothes fitting the description, and his rifle was found with him. Also found on the body were Russell Bussiere’s wallet, cell phone and GPS unit.

The body was found about a mile from where the search’s command post was set up on Dodge Road, which is also where the Bussieres had parked, about 45 feet off the trail, Mulholland said.

The night Russell Bussiere, who’d been hunting at Bear Brook for 50 years according to family members, disappeared, the area was hit with about a foot of snow. More fell in the following days, creating a very thick snow cover which may have completely concealed Bussiere, Mulholland said.

He added search teams had been through the area where the remains were found.

“As ironic as it sounds, yesterday was the best day of my life,” said Michael Bussiere during a phone call on Monday, April 28 about the discovery of his father’s remains the previous day.

Michael Bussiere said he wanted to thank all of the agencies and volunteers involved in the search, particularly New Hampshire Fish and Game.

“Thanks for the people who went out looking on their free time. Their efforts were truly appreciated,” Michael Bussiere said.

Mulholland said there will be a standard post-mortem autopsy on the body, but authorities believe it was a natural death. “We suspect it was a medical condition. There is no evidence of foul play or accidents,” Mulholland said.

Michael Bussiere said the family is holding off on services until family members who live in other areas of the country can make the trip.

Vintage snowmobiles on display at Bear Brook Park

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:51:00 GMT

BY LEWELLYN HALLET

If the smell of gasoline and roar of a motor on the cold air are part of what you love about a New England winter, check out the vintage snowmobile sat Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown. The New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum Association (NHSMA) hosts its 23rd Annual Winter Show on Sunday, Feb. 17, at the park’s Museum Complex.

Snowmobile collectors, restorers, riders and vintage enthusiasts will gather to display and view snow-traveling machines, meet committed collectors, and hear special presentations on this year’s featured line, Scorpion Snowmobiles.

Weather and conditions permitting, there will also be a parade of vintage machines through the park trails.

Mike Wheeler of Dunbarton Center Road in Bow, and his wife, Sue Wheeler, will don matching Scorpion snowmobile suits and display Mike’s 1969 Scorpion sled. He has half a dozen other vintage machines in the garage.

Last year he took his Arctic Cat when that line was featured, though any make and model can be displayed. Mike has never owned newer snowmobiles. All winter he “runs around” on his old sleds and likes it that way. His sister-in-law and neighbor, Carol Bailey, has served on NHSMA’s board as treasurer for almost 12 years.

“I like the old sleds,” Bailey said. “I like to watch them, see people using them, and I like to be part of it. The old sleds are fun.”

New Hampshire played a key role in the development of snowmobiling, and in 1985, the New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum Association was founded to preserve its history.

Space was provided by the Division of Parks and Recreation in one of the Civilian Conservation Corps buildings at Bear Brook State Park. Over 80 donated machines are displayed on rotation, along with a collection of memorabilia. Winter hours are Saturdays, 1 to 3 p.m., and in the summer by request to the staff at the Camping Museum, also housed in Bear Brook’s Museum Complex.

The 23rd annual winter show starts at 9 a.m. Sunday and continues into the afternoon. Awards are presented at 2 p.m. To display snowmobiles, pre-registration is encouraged or register on the day of the show from 9 to10 a.m. only. The show is free and open to the public. For more details on this event and the New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum Association, visit www.nhsnowmobilemuseum.com.

Still no sign of Russell Bussiere of Hooksett after weeklong effort at Bear Brook State Park

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:42:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

After more than a week of extensive searching over rough terrain, 6 inches of snow and thick forest at Bear Brook State Park, search teams have found no trace of a Hooksett man who went missing at the popular hunting grounds on Sunday, Dec. 2.

Avid hunter Russell Bussiere, 70, failed to show up for a meeting with his son and fellow hunter, Michael Bussiere of Pembroke, at around noon that day, prompting the family to call in authorities.

Michael Bussiere said the family is being realistic about the odds against the missing man, but is certain they will find him at some point.

“We’ll find him. We know we’re not going to find him alive, but we’ll find him,” said Michael Bussiere.

He said the family is holding up well under the circumstances, and is grateful for the tremendous search effort headed up by New Hampshire Fish and Game and Allenstown Police that included the Army National Guard, the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and the help of fire and police from Hooksett and Pembroke.

About 200 volunteers donated their time and expertise for the search effort, including members of Mount Washington Ski Patrol, Henniker fire and rescue and fellow local hunters concerned about one of their own.

The expansive search covered more than 10 square miles, the majority of Bear Brook State Park, and also some “high probability” areas outside the grid search area over a five-day period.

Teams of 10 to 12 lined up, a searcher on each end of the line having a GPS to map the line’s area covered. That information was transmitted back to a GPS mapping system at the command post to ensure all of the ground in the search area was covered.

No traces of Bussiere, such as clothing, makeshift shelters or disturbances in the snow were found during the searches.

Michael Bussiere said his father had been hunting more than 60 years, and that his experience with Bear Brook should have worked to his advantage.

“Russell knows that area better than his house,” he said.

He added that his father is very punctual and reliable, virtues that helped raise a red flag when Bussiere failed to meet his son after hunting that day.

Michael Bussiere also said his father struggles with operating the GPS device he had with him, which may have contributed to his disappearance, but said he does not have any idea what may have happened to his father.

“I’ve used up all my theories,” he said.

Pared-down search efforts continued as of Monday, Dec. 10, according to Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mulholland.

Michael Bussiere said he would continue searching the area throughout the winter with small parties of volunteers, and hopes that spring melting will reveal evidence of his father’s whereabouts.

Russell Bussiere, a dedicated Red Sox fan who was ecstatic to finally see his team win the World Series in 2004, was in the granite curbing business for decades and opened his own business about 20 years ago, Michael Bussiere said.

“Russell was an extremely hard-working man,” he said. “His word was gold.”

Hunter missing in park for days

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:48:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Hope was fading on Wednesday, Dec. 5, for a Hooksett man who got lost in Bear Brook State Park on Sunday, Dec. 2. After three nights of snow and frigid temperatures, New Hampshire Fish and Game said it is unlikely Russell Bussiere, 70, is alive.

“Our search commanders and all of the participants in this incident are frustrated and extremely disappointed that we have been unable to locate Mr. Bussiere or find clues as to his whereabouts,” said Col. Jeffrey Gray of Fish and Game in a press release on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 12:09 p.m. “At this point, we are approaching the limitations of our search and rescue resources.”

As of Dec. 5, the search expanded for a third time to locations adjacent to the state park. A decision on whether to call off the search was to be made late that afternoon. By press time, 15 teams continued searching through the 7 inches of snow, thick trees and rough terrain.

Allenstown police and fire departments, New Hampshire Fish and Game, Hooksett firefighters, state police and about 200 community volunteers have been searching for Bussiere, of 221 West River Road in Hooksett, since he failed to return to a meeting spot while hunting at the 15-square-mile state park with his son, Michael Bussiere, on Sunday, Dec. 2.

Major Timothy Acerno of Fish and Game said authorities were using a GPS mapping system, K-9 units and line searches in their attempts to locate the missing man.

At a press briefing on Monday, Dec. 3, Lt. Kevin Jordan of New Hampshire Fish and Game said Michael and Russell Bussiere parked at a location on Dodge Road and entered the state park’s south end. Equipped with Garmin Rhino GPS navigators and cell phones, they planned on hunting in the area for deer, each making a large circle before meeting back at the car.

The last vocal transmission between the two men was at 10:30 a.m. Russell Bussiere never made it back to the car, prompting his family members to call authorities at 2 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m., a transmission came through the GPS that located the elder Bussiere’s device just a mile from where the parked vehicle, Jordan said.

That location was searched to no avail, as well as areas surrounding it. An attempt to track Bussiere’s cell phone from the closest cell tower could not reveal a specific location.

Authorities fear the batteries on Bussiere’s phone and GPS device have run out, he said, after repeated attempts to locate the GPS and calling Bussiere’s cell phone.

Search teams scoured the area from about 2 p.m. on Sunday until 3 a.m. Monday morning, using the last GPS location as a starting point, but came up with no clues to the elderly man’s whereabouts.

Searchers focused on what Acerno called “high probability areas,” such as trails and streams, or areas that offer resources where Bussiere may likely be found.

By about 4 p.m. on Monday, Jordan said, search teams had covered about half of a 7-square-mile grid search area.

The search resumed at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4, with added volunteers and mutual assistance to cover an expanded 10-square-mile area. Using a Map Source, a GPS mapping system, searchers’ progress was plotted to ensure all grids in the area would be covered.

Bussiere’s nephew, Richard Emond of Hooksett, brought his son Matt Emond, 18, to participate in the search on Tuesday. “We’re being optimistic and hoping we have a good result,” said Richard Emond, who is also a hunter.

The inclement weather was a concern for authorities, but Jordan said the snow may have actually worked in Bussiere’s favor on Sunday into Monday because it raised the temperature.

Due to weather conditions, the Army National Guard was not able to get its Black Hawk helicopter off the ground to search the state park until Tuesday.

Repeated flyovers revealed nothing about Bussiere’s dissappearance.

Acerno said Bussiere, who is a retired military veteran, a seasoned hunter and frequently works out, is physically capable and resourceful enough to survive the cold and snow overnight.

Bussiere also had some snack foods with him that may have sustained him through the night and possibly matches, Jordan said.

At Monday’s briefing, Jordan said Bussiere’s family members were actively participating in the search. “This man was dearly loved and they’re very concerned and worried,” he said.

When volunteers had to be removed from the search party due to being cold, wet, or otherwise unfit to continue, Jordan announced at a press conference on Dec. 4 that they would not use civilian volunteers to continue on Dec. 5.

“The odds aren’t with him,” said Mike Roberge, a hunter from Goffstown who joined the search party with his black lab, Mandy.

Roberge volunteered because of his kinship with hunters. “Hopefully, someone would do the same for me,” he said.