She died 18 days after the search was called off

[Bear Paw Jack]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD8MdMoIh9k

Very interesting video of a lady that was walking the Appalachian trail, and got lost, more or less.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

Sad story in the sense that she was focused more on getting a cell signal than using her actual voice to help being found. I just don’t understand how you could just lay down for 18 days and die half a mile from a trail that is traveled by a lot of people.

 

[redhawker]

Although technology isn't perfect it's likely a small investment would have given her the means to find her way out or at least summon help. Whenever I go off the beaten path I have my InReach Explorer with me. Sends satellite tracking reports that your friends and relatives can pull up on a computer, allows texting back and forth via satellite and also has an emergency button that will summon help, with your GPS location included, via satellite. As long as you can see the sky you should be able to get help. Again, technology isn't 100%, something could also go wrong with something like an InReach, but it'd probably get you out of there 99.9% of the time.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I agree, I've got SPOT. You can send a message that says I need help.

 

[wolfsong]

A whistle trumps a cell phone...she should have had one with her. Basic safety rule.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I can't imagine laying in a sleeping bag to die. Whistles are a good thing. I remember my son needing to take a leak and was going to head into some brush over his head. I handed him my compass and said you go in that direction, and come out this direction. Apparently no one ever told her that.

 

[Rick Courtright]

A whistle trumps a cell phone...she should have had one with her. Basic safety rule.

Hi,

Add that one can use the whistle for hours, vs just a few minutes of yelling "Help!" before the voice goes out. Most of my compasses have a lanyard/neck cord of some sort, with a whistle on it. Three short blasts was the emergency signal I was taught. Is that still correct?

GPS, and all the cool tech stuff that requires batteries and urban level support systems, are all nice, but a simple compass reading should have gotten her back on course: take a look as you leave the trail so you know if you're going to be north, south, east or west of it. Wander about, then reverse course. Don't even worry about an exact bearing, just the general direction should bring you back. The AT has about a zillion users every year, so it seems odd she'd be so far out of touch. Not impossible, just odd. And sadly, odd turned into fatal.

Rick C

 

[gramps]

The lady was 66 years old. Went off trail to use the bathroom. Tragic! I have been involved in S&R. Three blasts on a whistle works or three short, three long, then three short blasts is SOS. Three rapid shots from a firearm, pocket flares etc. she was ill prepared to hike the AT alone.
gramps

 

[graygun]

If the woods were thick enough to quickly get lost in,then why venture more than a few yards to squat?

...just makes you wonder...

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

Rick, Yes, three short blasts are the signal for help. Problem is, the listeners may not know.

Gramps, I suspect many of the people that hike the AT are ill prepared, but probably luckier than her.

 

[Galaxiedan]

I dont understand how in 18 days one couldnt head one direction and find civilization? Are there many locations in the lower 48 where even 2-3 days of heading one direction on foot wont get you to a well traveled road?

 

[caryc]

She must have known people would be searching for her. So, forget the whistles and electric gadgets that she didn't have...what about smoke? Surely she had the means to build a fire.

It's pretty sad when a single match could have saved her life if she had used it.

 

[blackhawknj]

There are what I call "nature knuckleheads"-they think going out into the woods is just a stroll in the park.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

She must have known people would be searching for her. So, forget the whistles and electric gadgets that she didn't have...what about smoke? Surely she had the means to build a fire.

It's pretty sad when a single match could have saved her life if she had used it.

Cary I agree. Any kind of signal could have saved her life. People panic. She accepted her fate way earlier than she should have.

 

[Jeepnik]

She must have known people would be searching for her. So, forget the whistles and electric gadgets that she didn't have...what about smoke? Surely she had the means to build a fire.

It's pretty sad when a single match could have saved her life if she had used it.

Very possibly not. Open fires aren't allowed on the trail. Many stoves have igniters. She may simply have been too stupid to realize she could use the stove to light a fire.

Modern day natural selection. Would you really want you child to marry one of her offspring?

 

[caryc]

She must have known people would be searching for her. So, forget the whistles and electric gadgets that she didn't have...what about smoke? Surely she had the means to build a fire.

It's pretty sad when a single match could have saved her life if she had used it.

Very possibly not. Open fires aren't allowed on the trail. Many stoves have igniters. She may simply have been too stupid to realize she could use the stove to light a fire.

Modern day natural selection. Would you really want you child to marry one of her offspring?

To hell with what's allowed. I still wouldn't be out in country like that without a way to start a fire. It's basic survival skills.

 

[Rancher Will]

I agree with some above. I don't know of any place in the Lower 48 where a person could not use the Sun, Moon and stars to walk in any direction for at least a very few days without finding a road, a trail, buildings, people in any location.

If she lived 18 days, she had plenty of opportunity to survive.

 

[Pat-inCO]

I agree with some above. I don't know of any place in the Lower 48 where
a person could not use the Sun, Moon and stars to walk in any direction
for at least a very few days without finding a road, a trail, buildings,
people in any location.

If she lived 18 days, she had plenty of opportunity to survive.

Agree.

Most current cell phones have GPS built in. That might have even helped.

OR a Garmin trex401 (like a large wrist watch) would have literally been
a life saver ($150 on Amazon).

OR a Garmin eTrex10 for $83.

Something like going for a walk in the desert with no water.
Less than optimal.