Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire She died 18 days after the search was called off

She lost her GPS or left it in a hotel.

Also:

"Her initial trail companion, Jane Lee, who had hiked much of the trail with Largay before a personal emergency called her away, told wardens that her friend found navigation difficult with a map and compass and sometimes struggled to keep up."



https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mys...y-disturbing-deaths-in-the-us-wilderness







Not surprised by any of it. Hell, the majority of people on the 'Fire never read half the posts or articles but jump in with both feet. She's far less stupid than many on here.

I believe she had:

No basic woodsmanship skills.
Little to no common sense
No clue which direction the sun rose or set in.
The knowledge that following a stream or something might have led her out.
The knowledge of how to use a compass, map, GPS or SPOT.

I guess the moral of the story is...if you don't have a clue don't take a [bleep] out of sight of the trail.

People have to know their limits, being adventurous is cool but know what you’re capable of. RIP to her.

Without even getting into the map, compass, gps, downhill, streams, etc., etc., there are not very many places in the continental U.S. and, specifically, along the Appalachian trail where one can't walk a day, 3 max, in one direction and cut a road.

As long as you don't walk in circles. Even if it nothing else a compass will keep you from doing that.

Rich 66 yr old woman from Brentwood all alone on the trail takes a dump off the side of the trail
And can't find her way back....
Journal reads
Black flies suck
Horse flies suck
Moose flies suck
Deer flies suck

Why did my dumbass think this was gonna be fun.

I bet she died in that sleeping bag trying to stay away from all the bugs on her 24/7

That time of year in the woods in Maine is not the place to be.
Flying biting insects are relentless.


She died of her own stupidity

Touching music in the video.......

Mrs slumlord does stuff like this, by herself

Can't tell her nothing.

She did a 1-day 14 miler 3 weeks after giving me her left kidney.

I "rescued" one hunter in California, who was totally lost, 1/2 mile from the road. He'd fired all his rifle & pistol ammo, and yelled for help over a period of maybe 15 minutes. Some of the sounds he made almost sounded like an animal in a fight. I was probably 3/4 mile from him and heard all the ruckus and shouting. Made me think he was either injured, or being eaten by a lion, a bear, or Bigfoot I cut across country in the direction of the sound, not knowing what the heck was going on. I cradled the fine old FN Mauser .30-06, turned the scope down to 3x and wondered if I was going to be fighting a carnivore with the elegant rifle.

I found the guy alone, sitting on a rock in a small clearing, almost catatonic, he was so terrified. I knew where the road was, and we walked to it, and got him back to his car. He had no business being in the woods, and I'm not sure he would have found his way out. He'd inherited the rifle, and decided to try hunting, with no preparation.

A few years before, one hunter completely disappeared in the same general area. His truck was found, but no trace of him, otherwise.

She has woods skills and common sense, and probably plenty of bug dope.
This time of year at altitude and cooler weather the fuggers ain't bad.
Get down in the low areas it's still game on like donkey Kong for em though on warm days.

Jack Links bigfoot got him.
Used him as a sex toy , then ate him.
Kept the skull as a trophy and rodents chewed on the rest of the bones.

My first elk hunt was in the Bitterroot Mtn's in Idaho. I went with a buddy, Tracy, from work and we opted to share a guide. We got into the base camp and went out to the spike camp the next day on mules. On the first day of the hunt we both went out with the guide to get familiar with the area. The next day we flipped to see who would go out with the guide that day and they we would alternate the rest of the trip. I won the toss and the guide discussed with my friend where he recommended he go and told him where we would head. Everything seemed fine and off we went. We had an enjoyable but uneventful day of hunting, seeing mostly moose, which I had no tag for. When they guide and I were headed back on the trail up to camp, the guide sprinted ahead to see how Tracy had done. Before I made it back to camp the guide ran out to meet me, and told me Tracy had gotten lost, and inadvertently walked all the way back to the base camp. They had brought him back out, but he was spooked and wanted to leave. We had taken his truck out, so I wasn't very happy to hear that. When we dot back into camp, I told Tracy I understood how he might feel and it was OK with me if he took off, but to just take my stuff out of the truck and leave it in the base camp. I'd get a ride into town from the outfitter and take a bus home. He ended up staying but mostly stayed close to camp on his days solo and cut firewood. Neither of us got a shot at an elk. Before we left on the trip Tracy got a shiny new brass compass from Cabela's back when they sold good stuff. I'll never forget his look both when he showed it to me and I told him how nice it was and how it immediately changed to panic when I asked him if he knew how to use it. Guess he didn't study.

Hopefully you found a new hunting buddy.

All the talk about being close to this or that really isn't taking into account that she was lost, meaning she didn't know what she was or wasn't close to. Theoretically a person could die 20' from a trail if you didn't know it was there it really doesn't help you much. I agree tho she shoulda just started walking rather than sit that long. There's no way I'm sitting in one place for more than overnight and only because it got dark before I found my way out. I take getting lost pretty personal and am not going to lie down for it! I'm the guy that'll die on his feet.

It is a result of being unprepared and unaware. Unaware of her surroundings, unprepared to be effective in the use of the gear available to her.

The truth o' the matter is most of the long distance trail hikers are in the same boat so far as knowing their surroundings. I hike nearby sections of the PCT in summer and I'm surprised how many people I run into are just laying down miles to check the trail off their bucket list rather than slowing down to enjoy the areas they pass through. No few of them, if they found themselves a quarter mile off trail, would be in any position to self-rescue. There are many streams and ridges a person could hike down towards "civilization". There are also a good number that are interrupted by 500-1000 foot bluffs and/or waterfalls. Lack of knowledge of the area one is passing through is dangerous.

The AT is not that much different than the PCT in that sense. You really need to know what the section of trail you're hiking passes through.

As others have said, lack of understanding of how to truly use the gear you've got ... like getting up high for a cell signal you might not have down in a bowl ... is dangerous. Just like leaving it behind in a motel room.

There have actually been (alleged) Bigfoot sightings in that area

But more likely, a bear or lion got him. And I have seen their tracks Never saw Bigfeet tracks

At least she left this world doing what she wanted to do!

Starving to death??

Woman of the modern world. Lacking common sense. When you left the trail did you go uphill or down, east or west. Too many ways to work yourself out. Of course she relied on technology, that will get you killed. Then she probably followed the advice to sit tight and wait, which is fine for a few days but not that long term. At some point you have to figure your way out.

I used to hunt some rough country down in the mountains. My method for finding my way back was simple to do with a compass even without a map. Go south off the trail I was camped on. At the end of the day go north until I came upon the trail. I usually went southeast going out, then shot a straight line north coming back,..so whenever I hit the trail I knew that my camp was somewhere west down the trail.

The first year I went without a compass. I learned real quick that was a mistake.

I once was following a deer trail and went down into a sort of ditch with embankment on both sides. I was intently watching the ground and not paying attention to any changes in direction I had made. Eventually, the trail took me back up above the embankment, where, to my great surprise, the sun was setting in the east! After a momentary panic, I calmed myself down and got reoriented.