The Heartbreaking Notes from a Woman Who Disappeared on the Appalachian Trail

The trail winds its way through landscapes that range from dense forests to exposed mountain peaks, with breathtaking views at every turn. On July 22, 2013, a hiker vanished while hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Her tragic story left many across the world brokenhearted.

Her hike began in West Virginia and led her into the middle of Maine. She hiked with others along the trail but wandered most of the way alone. After a consistent back-and-forth via text message with her husband, George Largay, she stopped responding.

Many have a deep love of nature, a trait that gets passed on from generation to generation. Gerry had a true love for nature and expressed her gratitude through her work. You can see from the smile on her face that the great outdoors, in all of its mystery and splendor, is where she felt most at home.

It must have been as if time stood still out there, far away from the bustle and noise of modern life. We’ve all experienced it at one point or another; the calmness of the forest, the scrubs and bushes swaying in the breeze, the feeling of being one with nature. It can make you feel as if you’ve left behind all the troubles of the world.

As her hobby continued throughout the years, she became more and more ambitious. Her goal was to hike more than 2,000 miles on the Appalachian Trail. Gerry made up her mind and preparations for the trek were underway.

But Gerry was already determined to do it. George set aside his uncertainty and stood behind his wife’s decision. When they got to their daughter’s house, Gerry and her family began plotting points on the long journey she was about to face.

Gerry became more and more determined as the days passed and her training began to pay off. After all the preparations were finalized, Gerry was ready to take the plunge.

Having had so much time to plot their route, they decided on heading north from the trail’s center, to Mount Katahdin’s endpoint. From there they would circle back to their starting point. After that, they would journey down to Springer Mountain, on the southern section of the path.

Fog is somewhat considered a hiker’s mortal enemy. With poor visibility, one wrong step can cause a lot of damage. Stick to the habit of looking up and down the route and comparing it to a map while visibility is good.

The Franconia Ridge is one of the most breathtaking views you’ll encounter on the Appalachian Trail. It is also one of the most challenging terrains that you’ll ever have to face when hiking. When the weather is bad it becomes a no-go zone. If the weather is poor, it is advisable to take another path.

The fact that she was about 200 miles from Mount Katahdin only fueled her desire to finish the trail even more. But before she reached George to pick up some supplies for the remaining portion of the trip, she had to endure a 22-mile hike on rough terrain.

On the morning of July 22nd, she bid farewell to some of the other hikers as she readied herself to take on the challenges of the day. Gerry seemed excited, not knowing what to expect ahead.

Gerry faced the usual problems that come with being around a group for extended periods of time, specifically “nature’s call”. When Jane was by her side, using a bathroom presented a challenge as she would need to secure privacy in an open environment. Sometimes, they would have to lag far back from the rest of the hikers to make sure they were alone.

When she realized she was alone and nothing around her seemed familiar, she tried to get back on the trail. She reached a forest that had been used for logging a decade earlier and had since degraded into a mess of abandoned logs, cracked trees, and wild vegetation.

In the hope of finding some help, she texted her husband, saying, “In some trouble. Got off trail… Now lost. Can you call AMC to see if a trail maintainer can help me? [I’m] somewhere north of woods road.” Unfortunately, Gerry’s messages did not reach her husband.

According to Jane, Gerry did not have a good sense of direction, walking off the trail multiple times when she was by her side. With the police and volunteers ready, the search for Gerry began. They searched for her in the countryside, but there’s no sign of her.

There was a lot of conflicting information about Gerry’s disappearance. Some said that they saw Gerry in Spaulding, an area far from her original route, which later the authorities believed was a false tip. Some teenagers also reported seeing her in a place that would have been too far out of the way.

Meanwhile, Gerry did not stop trying to pursue help. In the hopes that it might help someone find her, she hung pieces of her silver-colored blanket under spots where the sun’s rays broke through the trees. She made sure to place her tent where it could be seen by other people.

Time was not on Gerry’s or the rescue party’s side. The rescuers knew that her chances of survival in the forest, alone and with limited food, were getting slimmer as each day passed. To step up their search, they put a helicopter in the sky to widen the spotlight.

Days and nights passed. On August 6, a whole 15 days after her initial disappearance, she decided to send another text message to her husband, but due to a lack of service, it was never received.

On July 30, with no sign of Gerry, the authorities called off their search. It’s heartbreaking knowing that she was out there waiting for someone to help her. The authorities must have felt a heavy weight on their shoulders as they failed to bring her home.

The experience of losing someone is one of the hardest things a person has to go through, and not being able to find peace by knowing what happened must have been even worse. All you can do is mourn and remember that they will always be with you in your heart and mind.

Upon hearing the news, Lieutenant Kevin Adam went immediately to the scene. He was a part of Gerry’s search and rescue effort two years earlier. Reporting on his experience, he said, “I saw a flattened tent, with a green backpack outside of it and a human skull with what I believed to be a sleeping bag around it. I was 99% certain that this was Gerry Largay’s.”

The team was accompanied by a film crew who were filming an episode of North Woods Law. The team took a look inside the tent and saw Gerry’s body with some of her belongings. Gerry’s initial identification inside the tent was all caught on film.

We can all agree that there’s no more emotional feeling than finding a lost person, but uncovering a lost person’s fate is at least some consolation. “There’s nobody that wanted to bring her home more than we did. I really feel for the family,” Warden Kris Maccabe said.

They also found a credit card that she had torn up and buried in pieces so that no one could use its information. There were also signs that she had run out of food and water during her time in the tent, a detail that will be remembered by the hearts and minds of the people who found her.

Gerry even wrote that she knew she’d end up dying in the woods, which was heartbreaking for the family to read. Inside the journal, Gerry wrote these words: “When you find my body please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry,” the entry read. “It will be the greatest kindness for them to know that I am dead and where you find me – no matter how many years from now.”

However, the last entry in her journal was on August 18, which was 27 days after she’d gone missing and 18 days after the search had been called off. The authorities who had read her journal could not accurately track Gerry’s movement based on what she wrote.

We shouldn’t forget she was also 66-years-old when she climbed the trail. Having nothing to line her stomach must have been hard. One of the most devastating discoveries was that her tent was actually relatively close to a public path.

Gerry’s family found comfort in having her belongings returned. They’d waited for a long time, two years, to finally be reunited with her remains. Though it must have been heartbreaking, her family was still thankful that her body and final thoughts had been found.

Gerry’s family released a statement following the discovery of her remains: “Gerry was doing exactly what she wanted to do. As the warden’s report indicates, she was lucid and thinking of others – as always – until the end.”

One of those people was Maine-based writer Dee Dauphinee. In 2019, Dee published a book entitled When You Find My Body: The Disappearance of Geraldine Largay on the Appalachian Trail. This book recounts the events leading up to Gerry’s disappearance, despite the Trail being fully equipped with signs and warnings.

Dee believes that Gerry’s disappearance spurred Maine’s largest-ever missing-person hunt, which ended with her being assumed dead. Through his book, Dee wants people to learn from Gerry’s tale and to spread awareness to other hikers who plan to hike on the Appalachian Trail.

In 2019, Dee told the Maine Public that he needed to stress that, contrary to common sense, even while hiking major pathways like the Appalachian Trail, a good hiker always has a compass at hand, because you never know what will happen while hiking.

The pain of her absence still lingers in the hearts of her family and friends. “That was gut-wrenching. I knew [Gerry] was one tough cookie; I just didn’t realize how tough she was.” George said in an interview with The Boston Globe.

They placed a handmade crucifix on the site, plastered with notes from the hiker’s adoring grandkids, family, and friends. Gerry’s daughter, Kerry, vowed to visit the location with her own children someday, to pay tribute to her mom.

They were camping near Comins Township in Oscoda County, Michigan, an area notorious for Bigfoot sightings. Here, campers can enjoy fishing, hunting, and the fresh air of nature with its spectacular views and breathtaking lakes.

The Michigan State Police posted a tweet on their Twitter account, stating: “MSP, the Oscoda County Sheriff’s Office and the DNR are mounting a search for two-year-old Gabriella Vitale. She wandered from her campsite on Reber Road west of M-33 and hasn’t been seen since. Anyone with info should contact police ASAP.”

After 27 long hours of searching, Gabriella showed up at the cabin of two volunteers. They found her with no footwear, wearing her pants and shirt. To everyone’s relief, she didn’t show any signs of injury. She was in a good mood, as though the thought of being lost in the forest alone hadn’t even crossed her mind.

“We are ecstatic she’s been found. She certainly helped by finding a residence,” Lieutenant House told The Detroit News. It was amazing that even at a very young age, Gabriella approached a place where people could find her—an inspiring story of community and hope.