Remains believed to be those of Geraldine Largay, who disappeared from the Appalachian Trail in 2013, recently were found roughly 3,000 feet from the trail in Maine.
Skeletal remains found in a rugged area of Maine, roughly 3,000 feet from the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, are thought to be those of a 66-year-old hiker who went missing two years ago.
While a medical examiner must make an exact determination, authorities believe the remains are those of Geraldine Largay, who had set out from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in April 2013 to hike north to the trail's summit at Mount Katahdin. Ms. Largay's husband had been following her progress by vehicle, and last met up with her on July 21, 2013. The next day she failed to meet him as planned.
The remains of Ms. Largay, whose trail name was Inchworm, were found October 14 by a contractor conducting a forestry survey on land owned by the U.S. Navy and used for a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training program.
After she was reported missing in 2013, searchers spent 10 days looking for Ms. Largay. Crews reportedly came within 100 yards of her remains at times.
"We felt all along that she somewhere got off the trail, she was in a remote wooded area and we just needed to get the right resource in there. In this particular case it happened to be a gentleman doing an environmental survey", said Lt. Kevin Adam of the Maine Warden Service.
Comments
Heartbreaking.
Was this for lack of a GPS device with an extra set of fresh batteries and a way to start a fire? The autopsy may be able to find sign of an injury if a bone was broken, but being 3,000 ft off of the trail makes it look like she was lost or disoriented due to either exposure or a metabolic reason. She would not have wondered this far off the trail due to an acute cardiac or cerebral event.