• OzzModz is no longer taking registrations. All registrations are being redirected to Snog's Site
    All addons and support is available there now.

Hiker wrote final goodbyes weeks after search ended

Luke Skywalker

Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Geraldine Largay(Photo: Submitted)


NASHVILLE — Faced with the prospect of never seeing her family again, a Tennessee woman who died while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2013 conjured up the strength to leave a few final messages for her loved ones weeks after a search party had ended its efforts to locate her.
"When you find my body, please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry,” Geraldine Largay wrote in a journal on Aug. 6, 2013. “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.”
The entry is among several findings released this week in a report by the Maine Bureau of Warden Service.
On Friday, the Largay family provided The Tennessean with a statement of remembrance, strength and love.
“Gerry Largay was a positive, vibrant, optimistic, enthusiastic and spiritual person. We miss her every day. She was, and still is, a beacon of light for her family and everyone who knew her, and her final days were a testament to her bravery, resourcefulness and her faith," the family wrote.
USA TODAY
Remains of hiker, missing 2 years, found in Maine




The Maine report provides several details about the Brentwood woman’s final days, including new revelations about a series of text messages the former nurse tried to send to her husband of 42 years.
"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 tried to say in a text message to her husband on July 22. The message, however, did not send and Largay desperately tried to send it 10 more times.
The next day, Largay tried to send another text, which read, "Lost since yesterday. Off trail 3 or 4 miles. Call police for what to do pls. Xox." That message failed to send as well.
Largay didn't make it to an area on July 23 where she planned to meet her husband so she could replenish her supplies.
“Gerry Largay was a positive, vibrant, optimistic, enthusiastic and spiritual person. We miss her every day.”
Largay family
When she didn't show, George Largay called authorities, which led to a massive search involving 130 people — including dogs, horses, helicopters and ATVs — that lasted for 10 days. The search was largely contained to a 14-mile area of the trail in the Carrabassett Valley region of Maine.
It was unclear how long Largay remained alive after first getting lost. But according to the newly released report, she may have survived until at least Aug. 18.
When authorities found Largay’s belongings, they discovered a small journal that consisted of personal messages detailing her activities and notes to her loved ones. The journal provides a timeline of her thoughts and activities between July 22 and Aug. 10, the report says. "There is one more entry after August 10 and it is listed as August 18. Unsure as to the accuracy of that date."
The timeline indicates that Largay survived nearly three weeks after authorities had halted their search, which, according to the Boston Globe, was one of the largest in Maine Warden Service history.
“Like Gerry, our family is strong and resilient and guided by our faith. 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," the family said Friday.
Her body was eventually discovered in October 2015 by a forester. When authorities found her she was about 2 miles away from the Appalachian Trail in an area that belonged to the U.S. Navy.
USA TODAY
'Trail angels' support Appalachian through-hikers




Largay, 66, was an experienced hiker who had researched the Appalachian Trail before starting her 900-mile journey in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., on April 23, 2013.
“She loved camping. She loved outdoors,” George Largay said in an August 2013 interview. “The ultimate hike for someone who really loves hiking as she does is the Appalachian Trail.”
She was joined by Jane Lee, a companion who ended up having to stop the journey in New Hampshire due to a family emergency. Largay pressed on and continued the journey, which she hoped to end in Millinocket, Maine — about 200 miles away from where her body was eventually found.
Among her many belongings was a journal she left for her husband, which had the words "George please read. Xoxo" written on the cover.
Follow Joel Ebert on Twitter: @joelebert29




Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed
 
Back
Top