Found Deceased ME - Gerry Largay, 66, Appalachian Trail, 21 July 2013

[angelmom]

This article has so many details that we've been waiting to learn for so long. It is so painful to know how long Gerry suffered. I prayed that whatever happened to her had been quick, and was so sure she had slipped and hit her head. The one good thing to come from Gerry's journal and letters is absolute confirmation that her husband had nothing to do with her disappearance. I never for a moment thought he did, but there were people making hideous accusations on social media. It must have been heartwrenching for him.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine...erry-largay/DcaZf6RcojOTN2LNsOXm0K/story.html

 

[Topcat]

She truly was an amazing woman....

 

[Alleykins]

Another body was found near where Geraldine went missing. Posting this here to see what shakes out before starting another thread:
http://bangordailynews.com/2017/08/...ed-near-appalachian-trail-in-franklin-county/

 

[carbuff]

Identified: Canadian guy who died of natural causes: http://bangordailynews.com/2017/08/...e-along-appalachian-trail-in-franklin-county/

 

[Alleykins]

Identified: Canadian guy who died of natural causes: http://bangordailynews.com/2017/08/...e-along-appalachian-trail-in-franklin-county/

Wow, that was quick. The article just came up in my news feed on FB. Thanks, Carbuff!

 

[carbuff]

Spouse had heard about it through the hiking grapevine, so I was kind of ahead of the curve. Poor guy. I guess at least he died doing something he loved...

 

[Peter Noddin]

I'm glad to see that, otherwise there's a lot of blame directed at the searchers which I think is unfair. One oddity of this case is that she was found in a restricted area - which was searched with official Navy permission - but was therefore out of bounds to unofficial volunteer searchers and other hikers or recreational users. It was just bad luck she stumbled into this area, imo.

That is not entirely correct. She was on the Navy property up in the "Tomahawk Drop" area but miles from the operational SERE School. Two dog teams passed through the area in the later days of the search. A lot of comments overlook the realities of wilderness SAR. In this case the search focused far north of where she was for days because of a mistaken sighting of her on the trail. A good grid search team can search a little better than a square kilometer in an operational cycle and a trail hiker crosses 30 such squares PER HOUR. They cover a little ground with a probability of location of around 92-4%. Dogs cover lots of ground but at around 60% probability of location. The area was never grid searched because other areas were given higher priority. There was never an issue with permission or access. That area is small and miles away.

 

[Alleykins]

Thanks for shedding some light on SARs

 

[Alleykins]

Posting this article here because it mentions some details about Gerry's case. It's very informative and does a great job explaining what happens to a person when they get lost. And how easy it is to get lost in the woods, even for an experienced hiker. I found it very interesting and well worth the read. Why Humans Totally Freak Out When They Get Lost

 

[watcher9]

Posting this article here because it mentions some details about Gerry's case. It's very informative and does a great job explaining what happens to a person when they get lost. And how easy it is to get lost in the woods, even for an experienced hiker. I found it very interesting and well worth the read. Why Humans Totally Freak Out When They Get Lost

Thanks for the article. It was very interesting.

 

[Alleykins]

Thanks for the article. It was very interesting.

You're welcome.
I hope more will read it because some folks have a difficult time fathoming and believing how and why someone can easily and quickly get lost in the woods. And why it's so disorienting. Even for experienced hikers. Imagine how frightening and confusing it might be for a child or a senior with dementia or Alzheimer's.
I guess the trick is not to panic and stay put, but our instincts are to find our way back and keep trekking.

 

[evilwise]

A good grid search team can search a little better than a square kilometer in an operational cycle and a trail hiker crosses 30 such squares PER HOUR.

That's like a 3 minute mile

 

[EmmaRose]

That's like a 3 minute mile

Poor Gerry. I remember following this case. So heartbreaking. If only...

 

[al66pine]

FWIW, a link to an May 16, 2016 article from theguardian.com, summary of events.
Hiker who went missing on Appalachian trail survived 26 days before dying

Somewhat similar --- woman was lost in forest/wilderness -- to the initial reports re ~ May 10, 2020 Suzanne Morphew lost?/missing? -- thought to be biking alone, close to her Salida or Maysville Colorado home, along US Hwy 50. As of today May 18, still not located.
CO - CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #3

Both cases, sad, sad, sad.

 

[MaryG12]

Posting this article here because it mentions some details about Gerry's case. It's very informative and does a great job explaining what happens to a person when they get lost. And how easy it is to get lost in the woods, even for an experienced hiker. I found it very interesting and well worth the read. Why Humans Totally Freak Out When They Get Lost

That is a very interesting article.

Mentioned it to my husband and we put some thought as to what might help the hiker in a similar circumstance: going off trail to answer the call of nature when the landscape appears similar throughout with nothing unique to designate a turn.

I learned something new from that article about Nova Scotia, it being called "the lost person capital of North America."

 

[Peter Noddin]

That's like a 3 minute mile

Yup. That should have read "day". 20 mile days are not uncommon on some sections of the AT.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"While we grieve for Gerry, we do not second-guess any of the efforts to find her when she went missing. We witnessed firsthand the passion and commitment of the hundreds of game wardens and volunteers who searched for her," Largay's family said in a statement.

"Gerry was doing exactly what she wanted to do," the statement said. "She'd hiked a thousand miles — after 200 miles of training hikes the year prior — and as the warden's report indicates, she was lucid and thinking of others, as always, until the end."

Missing Hiker, Found Dead Years Later, Left Journal Behind For Loved Ones | The Weather Channel

A recent report sheds new light on Geraldine Largay's final days. - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com

weather.com

*2016:
AUGUSTA, Me. — She was afraid of being alone and prone to anxiety, a diminutive 66-year-old woman with a poor sense of direction, hiking the Appalachian Trail by herself, who wandered into terrain so wild, it is used for military training. She waited nearly a month in the Maine woods for help that never came.

Geraldine A. Largay chronicled her journey in a black-covered notebook that summer of 2013, and she kept writing after she lost her way, even as her food supply dwindled along with her hopes of being found. Her last entry reflected a strikingly graceful acceptance of what was coming.

“When you find my body, please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry,” she wrote. “It will be the greatest kindness for them to know that I am dead and where you found me — no matter how many years from now.”

Geraldine Largay’s Wrong Turn: Death on the Appalachian Trail (Published 2016)

“When you find my body, please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry,” Ms. Largay, 66, wrote in her diary after she became lost while hiking in Maine.

www.nytimes.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]