Geraldine Largay May Have Survived 26 Days After Wandering Off The Appalachian Trail

A report from the Maine Warden Service says Tennessee Hiker Geraldine Largay may have lasted 26 days before succumbing to exposure and starvation.

66-year-old Gerry Largay sent several text messages in July of 2013, but poor to no cell reception meant that they were never received by her husband George. In the first message, she tells him that she left the Appalachian Trail to go to the bathroom, and couldn't find her way back. She continued to hike, finding a higher elevation to try and send messages, but to no avail. At that point, the report says, Largay decided to stay put and hope that someone would locate her.

The Appalachian Trail was on Largay's bucket list, and she started the journey in April with a friend, Jane Lee. But when Lee had to leave for a family emergency, the hiker known as 'Inchworm' decided to keep going. George reported her missing on July 24th, 2013 after she failed to meet up with him at a prearranged location on Route 27 in Wyman Township. The last time she was seen by other hikers was two days earlier, at the Poplar Lean-to.

The search for Geraldine Largay was challenging, with only one item found that could be confirmed as belonging to her. There were tips to follow, mistaken sightings, and an often difficult terrain that hindered searchers. Her remains were found on October 14th, 2015 by a contractor conducting a forestry study on property owned by the U.S. Navy.

The report details what the recovery team found when they arrived at the campsite nearly two years after Largay disappeared. She had built a platform from pine needles and sticks and set up her tent on it, to avoid any water that might accumulate. Wardens say there was no evidence of a campfire, but there were trees with char marks that suggested she had tried to set them on fire. The site was covered by large hemlock branches which, the reports states, would have made it impossible to see from the air. It was also nearly obscured from view for searchers.

Largay wrote in a journal daily from the day she disappeared, July 22nd, to August 10th. There were no entries from the 11th to 17th. The final entry was dated August 18th, although there's no way for investigators to know if that was accurate. Her entry on August 6th is heartbreaking, showing an acceptance of her fate:

'When you find my body, please call my husband George (phone number), and my daughter Kerry (phone number). 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.'