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Sage

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http://fox13now.com/2016/05/27/lost-hikers-message-please-call-my-husband-when-my-body-is-found/
From the article:
Geraldine Largay knew she was so very lost that the chances of her making it out of the thick Maine woods were gone.

She had been writing in her journal every day and one of her final entries showed she was resigned to her fate.

“When you find my body please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry. 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. Please find it in your heart to mail the contents of this bag to one of them.”

It was August 6, 2013, about 15 days after she left the Appalachian Trail to use the bathroom.

Her body was found more than two years later, in a sleeping bag inside a zipped up tent.

Investigators this week released documents and photos related to the case. Texts and journal entries reveal Largay, 66, was alive for almost a month after she went missing.

Largay tried on July 22 to text her husband, who was meeting her at certain points along the almost 2,200-mile long trail, to get help from the Appalachian Mountain Club.

“In somm trouble. Got off trail to go to br. Now lost. Can u call AMC to c if a trail maintainer can help me. Somewhere north of woods road. Xox,” she wrote.

But the text didn’t go through. She walked west and kept trying to send the message. Ten more attempts, the last one at 12:25 p.m.

She tried to send a blank message two hours later. It didn’t go through.

She tried another message the next day, writing, “Lost since yesterday. Off trail 3 or 4 miles. Call police for what to do pls. Xox.” It also failed and she tried one more time to no avail.

By this time, Largay had set up her tent nearly 2 miles from the trail. She had some food, water and her camping supplies. And a journal that she wrote in each day.

One of the Maine wardens who compiled the evidence wrote that Largay’s writings were personal letters to her family.

There were entries through August 10 then nothing until the 18th. It was the last entry, 27 days after she got lost.

A forester on contract with the U.S. Navy found her campsite on October 11, 2015.

Two-year mystery

The Brentwood, Tennessee, resident, whose trail name was “Inchworm” due to her slow pace, started her journey in April 2013 at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

She was last seen on July 22 where she talked with two women at a lean-to, a sheltered stopping point. She planned to hike 8.4 miles north that day and then continue the next day to a point where the trail crossed a road. Her husband was to meet her there, but she never showed.

Hundreds of people and several dogs searched for her. There were few clues; she was last seen by two hikers, and her cell phone pinged a tower the afternoon she got lost.

Authorities said she died from starvation and exposure.

According to the more than 1,500 pages of documents, Largay was in good health and was an experienced hiker. She had traveled with a good friend, Jane Lee, until June 30, when Lee had to go home for a family emergency.

Lee told investigators that she was concerned about Largay hiking alone. Largay had a poor sense of direction and several times had taken a wrong turn. Once, Lee, who was a faster hiker and would sometimes go ahead then wait for her companion, said she had to double back and find Largay. The elder hiker had been walking the wrong direction until someone helped her get oriented.

One investigator wrote in 2013 that Lee told him Largay was in over her head trying to complete the rest of the trek solo.

CNN attempted Thursday to call a representative for the Largay family but was unsuccessful.

More phone traffic

The text of July 23 wasn’t the last Largay tried to send. There were also messages on the afternoon of July 30. And two texts were deleted on August 6, the same date of her hopeless journal entry.

It was unclear from the report whether Largay ever tried to call anyone herself.

Her husband told wardens that Gerry Largay used her cell phone sparingly, depending on the circumstances.
 
Lee told investigators that she was concerned about Largay hiking alone. Largay had a poor sense of direction and several times had taken a wrong turn. Once, Lee, who was a faster hiker and would sometimes go ahead then wait for her companion, said she had to double back and find Largay. The elder hiker had been walking the wrong direction until someone helped her get oriented.

This is a really sad story. However, how could you let a person with a "poor sense of direction" wonder alone in the wilderness? ...
 
This is a really sad story. However, how could you let a person with a "poor sense of direction" wonder alone in the wilderness? ...

Because that person might be defiant ......OMG I can think of at least ten

reasons why you might shrug and say okay on your own then.
 
I was born with absolutely no sense of direction and a complete inability to carry a tune.

As a consequence I struck hiking and singing off my list.
 
I wanna go hiking with Veronica! I have ab-so-lute-ly NO sense of direction; we would find all kindsa wildlife and stuff. Whether we wanted to or not.
 
You don't leave someone to their luck in the wild if they have no sense of direction.
You NEVER hike alone.
You don't keep moving if you are lost.

So much went wrong here as a recipe for tragedy.
 
Make it a trio! I have absolutely no sense of direction either and I used to have a hard time with left and right, that, at least is better now. My husband resorted to telling me to either turn "my way" or 'your way" when I was driving because I would get confused in a high traffic situation! There is no way I'd ever leave an establish well defined trail.

Oh yeah, My mother used to call me "gawky" her word for awkward. A dancer I am not.
 
Excellent sense of direction. Plus I frequently look back so I can recognise the return landmarks. Mom and I would hunt wild mushrooms when I was little, but I was the one who always knew the way back.

This story is so pitifully sad. One of the reasons she got herself even more lost was by trying to gain elevation to access cellphone reception. Not an unreasonable decision, unless you have no sense of direction.

If you ever find yourself lost like that, use rocks, sticks, whatever to lay out a huge SOS, then build a fire pit and start a fire, any thing you can find to ignite, and keep feeding it. Once it's going, you can add greener vegetation, 'cause what you want is smoke, lots of it. Someone coming to investigate a possible wildfire may be your best hope to be noticed.
 
I can't find my way out of a paper bag let alone come out of the woods. I once got lost while driving in my neighborhood. Dude!!!! I lived there for over 5 years and I swear if you told me I was in Kentucky I would have believed it.

@carolinablue, we would never be able to go on a hike together.

This made me so sad for her. Keeping a journal about her experience made my heart so heavy.
 
I have been called directionally challenged. It's bad and the very reason why I don't go anywhere I've never been before by myself.
 
Because that person might be defiant ......OMG I can think of at least ten

reasons why you might shrug and say okay on your own then.

I can't imagine ONE reason I would shrug and say okay you're on your own...maybe in a shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon near a bus stop, but never in the wilderness, alone - especially with no sense of direction and no cell service. This is so sad :(
 
I was born with absolutely no sense of direction and a complete inability to carry a tune.

As a consequence I struck hiking and singing off my list.
I was born the same way. I know the sun goes up in the east and down in the west, that's it. Singing...I do often. Not well but often.
 
can't imagine ONE reason I would shrug and say okay you're on your own...maybe in a shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon near a bus stop,

Some people can be reasoned with, some people like this lady can not. I sounds to me to me like

she laid down and died instead of making a big fire like @McDanel suggested.

They weren't at the mall...or a bus stop, both of which are equally dangerous places on any given

day. Did you watch a walk in the woods with Nick Nolte and Robert Redford.

those guys were old...they were on the same trail...they had a great mission...when it was

time they called it a day and went home. Mission accomplished or not...they knew when to

quit.
[doublepost=1464408064,1464407855][/doublepost]
I know the sun goes up in the east and down in the west,

Then Stand in the middle with your arms out...you have four points...yippee...you're going to survive and I bet singing helps.
 
Some people can be reasoned with, some people like this lady can not. I sounds to me to me like she laid down and died instead of making a big fire like @McDanel suggested.

Did I miss something, where this woman couldn't be reasoned with? I think she got lost and tried to be found.
 

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