LAKE PLACID – A 43-year-old man died while hiking a Cascade Mountain trail this morning.

Essex County 911 received a phone call informing them that the man had collapsed while ascending the trail. State police, equipped with an automated external defibrillator, responded along with fire and rescue personnel, Essex County sheriff’s deputies and state forest rangers.

The defibrillator and CPR were unsuccessful, however, and the man was pronounced dead on the trail.

State police did not identify the man today. They said his identification will be released following an autopsy scheduled for Friday at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake

The state police Special Operations Response Team helped remove the body to the Cascade Mountain trailhead. Essex County Coroner Frank Whitelaw responded to assist with the removal of the body at the trailhead and transportation to the hospital.