LAKE PLACID — A 44-year-old hiker died unexpectedly while hiking Cascade Mountain this past Saturday.

Forest rangers with the state Department of Environmental Conservation responded to a report of CPR in progress on a man — Gregory Luther, of Latham — approximately one and a half miles from the Cascade Mountain trailhead at 11:11 a.m. on June 25.

New York State Police were dispatched to the Cascade trailhead at 11:20 a.m. for a report of a “possibly deceased male,” according to NYSP Director of Public Information Beau Duffy.

Two hikers had found Luther unresponsive on the trail, according to the DEC, and two medical students arrived and started performing CPR. Duffy said they weren’t able to revive Luther.

A physician later arrived and determined that Luther had died at 11:45 a.m.

Seven forest rangers and two assistant forest rangers helped to recover Luther from the trail at 4:30 p.m. with assistance from New York State Police Aviation. DEC Bureau of Environmental Crimes (BECI) Investigator Anthony Panipinto also responded. Duffy said State Police airlifted Luther to the Lake Placid Airport. He was then transported to the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh for an autopsy, which determined that Luther died of natural causes.

Luther was a certified EMT and volunteered with the Latham Fire Department, according to an obituary published in the Times Union. Luther was “a lover of the outdoors,” “an all-around handyman who could fix just about anything,” and “a quiet, gentle giant who loved children and spending time with his family,” according to the obituary.