by Samantha Hearn, Brentwood Home Page
Brentwood woman and experienced hiker Geraldine Largay went missing in 2013 on the Appalachian Trail in Maine, and it wasn’t until August of 2015 that a contractor for the U.S. Navy found the remains of her tent and body.
Now, the Maine Warden Service released more than 1,500 pages of information on Wednesday related to her search as a response to Freedom of Access Act requests by several media organizations. Brentwood Home Page called the Maine Warden Service for a copy and was told that the documents had to be picked up in person in order to be read.
According to a report by the Boston Globe, two text messages and a note from her journal were released by the Warden Service.
Largay sent a text to her husband at 11:01 a.m. on July 22, 2013 that said, “In somm trouble. Got off trail to go to br. Now lost. Can u call AMC to c if a trial maintainer can help me. Somewhere north of woods road. XOX.”
She sent another at 4:18 p.m. on July 23, 2013 that said, “Lost since yesterday. Off trail 3 or 4 miles. Call police for what to do pls. XOX.”
The journal entry was dated Aug. 6, 2013 and read, “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 hearts to mail the contents of this bag to one of them.”
Her bag included a cellphone and the journal, which was written nearly two weeks after she went missing. She survived for nearly four weeks after she was reported missing.
The contractor who found her body last August was working on a forestry survey for an environmental impact statement when Largay’s remains were found inside a tent in a rugged area about 600 yards west of the trail.
Largay, also known as “Inchworm,” was 66 at the time of her disappearance, an experienced and avid hiker who made it a personal goal to hike the Appalachian Trail. She was hiking northbound, solo, on the 2,100-mile trail in western Maine. She was last reported seen on July 22, 2013 at Poplar Lean-to on the trail, where the last known photograph of her was taken.
Largay had been prepping for the hike for more than a year, hiking 200 miles through Georgia and North Carolina for practice with her husband, George. She began the Appalachian hike with her close friend, Jane Lee, in late April until late June when a family emergency called Lee back home.
The remaining three weeks of hiking Largay did by herself, with George hiking into the trail with her for part of the way in the mornings or meeting her at the end of the day to bring supplies. They wold often text, as well, so he knew she was safe.
George was going to meet her on July 23 at the trailhead on Route 27, about 22 miles north of where she was last seen. When she didn’t show up, he assumed she had stayed at one of the trail shelters due to heavy rain. He stayed in his truck in the trailhead parking lot in case she came to him, but by 48 hours of no word George contacted the police.
The tent was found in October of this year on Navy property that is part of a remote reservation used for Search, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training. It was determined that Largay, who made a wrong turn after crossing the Orbeton Stream, died of exposure and lack of food and water.
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