Missing Person in Canterbury

CONTACT:
Lieutenant Adam Cheney
603-271-3361
September 11, 2025

Canterbury, NH – On September 10, 2025, at 12:40 p.m., a 911 call was placed for a missing female who had left her residence to go for a walk in the woods behind her house with her dog and had not returned. Local Fire and Police Departments initiated a hasty search of local trails and surrounding roads to find the missing woman, identified as Anne Downing, 75, of Canterbury. A police drone and K-9 also assisted in the search.

New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officers were notified and arrived on scene at 138 Borough Road in Canterbury to begin searching the area shortly after 2:30 p.m. At 3:41 p.m., Downing was located by a friend of the family, approximately 1.1 miles from her residence near a small pond in the woods. Contact was made via cell phone. Downing was tired but able to slowly walk. The locating party was told to not move, and Local Fire, EMS and Conservation Officers responded to their location. Rescue UTVs were able to get close to Downing’s location by cutting trails. She was transported out of the woods via rescue UTVs to a waiting Loudon Ambulance on Borough Road to Concord Hospital to be evaluated as a precaution.

New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officers were assisted by Canterbury Fire and Police Departments, Loudon Fire and Police Departments, Merrimack County Sheriff’s Department, Bow Police Department, Pembroke Police Department, Allenstown Police Department and CAP Area C1.

New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officers would like to remind outdoor enthusiasts that with today’s technology it is always good to have an itinerary and let someone know where you plan to walk or hike and carry a charged cell phone that can be used to assist in case complications arise.