Geraldine Anita Largay Death, Obituary – Geraldine Largay, who was hiking the Appalachian Trail when she became disoriented and lost her way, made a camp in a small clearing in the woods in Redington Township and passed away in her sleeping bag inside a tent with the zipper closed. These particulars may be seen in the report that was compiled by the chief medical examiner and provided to the Morning Sentinel on Friday in response to a request for public documents. Largay, a hiker from Tennessee who was 66 years old at the time, was last seen on the trail in late July 2013, and her remains were not found until October 14, 2017, more than two years after her disappearance.
Largay’s death had been considered an accident by the medical examiner in the past; she had gotten lost in the woods, became unable to find food or water, and ultimately succumbed to the effects of being exposed to their natural environments. The report on forensic anthropology that was prepared by the medical examiner wasn’t finished until the 8th of January. Inanition, or exhaustion from a lack of food and drink, is listed as the official cause of death. This is “due to” extended exposure to the natural environment.
The medical examiner’s report provides previously unreported data about the campground and Largay’s place in it when she died. Despite the fact that it does not offer fresh light on why Largay got lost or how long she may have been camped out in the woods approximately one mile from the trail, the study does include details about the campsite and Largay’s place in it. It states that Largay set up a sleeping platform composed of dirt and pine needles in the region, which is described as a small space on a hill in a highly wooded area near a stream. Additionally, it says that the clearing is on a knoll.
According to the study, she “apparently died during the summer while in the sleeping bag, which at the time was then located within a closed tent.” “In the early weeks following the death, the body was well protected by the relatively moisture resistant fabric of the sleeping bag and tent. This limited the transmission of detectable scent through the air to the searching K-9s.” According to the Maine Warden Service, Largay’s skeletal remains were located two or three miles from the location on the route where she was last seen. The remains were recovered by two surveyors from Prentice and Carlisle County who were undertaking environmental work when they made the discovery.
According to the study, scavenging animals took some of Largay’s remains from the tent, but the majority of the bones were discovered together in the sleeping bag. She had been sleeping in the tent at the time of her death, as indicated by stains that were found in the tent under where the sleeping bag had been. According to the investigation, it had been zipped, but it showed signs of having been shredded by animals, and the sleeping bag had been dragged out after her death.
There were no indications of trauma on the bones that were examined, and Lt. Kevin Adam of the Maine Warden Service has stated that there is no reason to assume criminal activity. According to the findings of the research, the state of her bones was comparable to that of a person who had been deceased for approximately two years “when compared to similar cases exposed in a Maine woods setting.”
According to the article, the surveyors were on their way back from a task that took place on private land when they stumbled across the remains. At the time, they were traveling across a portion of federal land that is held by the Navy. The location of Redington Township on the Appalachian Trail in Maine is approximately in the middle between Rangeley and Carrabassett Valley, making it close to the trail’s halfway point.
During the past two years, search efforts have focused on a region that spans approximately 23 miles, beginning at the lean-to in Wyman Township where Largay was last seen and ending at the confluence of the trail and Route 27 in Wyman Township, where she was scheduled to meet her husband. There is a gap in our knowledge regarding the precise location where she lost the track.
According to what Adam claimed back in October, the warden service was only able to do three dog searches in the vicinity of where her remains were discovered because there were not enough volunteers who were physically able to conduct a ground search on the rough terrain. According to what Adam reported at the time, one of the dog search squads got within one hundred yards of the location. On Friday, he did not provide a remark in response to a call seeking one.
On 12,500 acres, or 19.5 square miles, of Redington Township’s 42 square miles, the United States Navy operates a school that teaches survival, evasion, resistance, and escape. This school is related to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Because of this, when the remains were discovered, special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service were engaged in the investigation.
According to the report of the medical examiner, “Nearly all of the remains were in a rather concentrated area associated with the sleeping bag, which was located within about 19-20 feet from the zipped up tent.” The lean-to located on Poplar Ridge was the location where Largay was last seen alive on July 22, 2013. She was only a little over 200 miles away from finishing the first half of the path, which was over 900 miles long and which she had started in West Virginia several months previously.
Rain fell heavily both during the day and the night after Largay was seen for the final time. At the time, there were fears that she had been disoriented on the trail or had experienced some sort of trouble at the Carrabassett River crossing that was located beyond where she was seen.
On July 23, she was supposed to pick up food and supplies from Wyman Township with her husband, George Largay, but she never showed up. They had planned to meet in Wyman Township. On July 24, it was revealed that she was gone, which prompted an intense search as well as an ongoing mystery.
In October, Largay’s smartphone was found among her other belongings, along with clothing and other personal items. Following an investigation by the Maine State Police Computer Crime Lab, it was determined that Largay had traveled to Orbeton Stream on July 22 and crossed a decommissioned railroad bed in the late morning.
She went north on the route not long after she reached the intersection, but at some point she veered off the path and became disoriented. Largay was last seen at the Poplar Ridge lean-to, which is about a third of the way between the Poplar Ridge lean-to and the Spaulding Mountain lean-to. Orbeton Stream can be found in this general area.
Her disappearance perplexed those who were searching for her and captured the attention of the national media. During the month of October, officials from the Warden Service referred to it as “one of Maine’s most unique and challenging search-and-rescue incidents.” In August of 2013, the search for Largay was reduced, but there were still occasional searches conducted in the area.
According to the findings of the medical examiner’s investigation, the trees in the forested region of Largay’s campground were a combination of hardwood and evergreen species, and the tree canopy above the campsite covered approximately 75 percent of the space.v”Visibility of the campsite from the surrounding woods or from the air above would be very limited,” states the report. Largay’s family issued a statement shortly after the remains were found, stating in the release that “these findings are conclusive in that no foul play was involved and that Gerry simply made a wrong turn shortly after crossing Orbeton Stream.”
Since we now know that her passing was the result of an accident, we would want to reiterate our request to the media that they respect our privacy as we move forward with the grieving process and enter a new phase of closure. David Fox, a friend of the family who has served as a spokesperson in the past, did not respond to calls seeking comment on Friday.
