Maine

Family of lost hiker won't second-guess Maine over search

Associated Press
Published | Updated

In this July 22, 2013 photo provided by Dorothy Boynton Rust, hiker Geraldine Largay, of Brentwood, Tenn., poses at the Poplar Ridge Shelter on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. A report released Wednesday, May 25, 2016, by the Maine Warden Service said Largay, known as Inchworm, got lost after leaving the trail that day. Documents show she survived at least 26 days after getting lost. She kept a journal of her ordeal and ultimately resigned herself to the idea she was going to die, and it could be years before her remains were located. They were found in October 2015. (Dorothy Boynton Rust via AP) (The Associated Press)

In this July 22, 2013 photo provided by Dorothy Boynton Rust, hiker Geraldine Largay, of Brentwood, Tenn., poses at the Poplar Ridge Shelter on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. A report released Wednesday, May 25, 2016, by the Maine Warden Service said Largay, known as Inchworm, got lost after leaving the trail that day. Documents show she survived at least 26 days after getting lost. She kept a journal of her ordeal and ultimately resigned herself to the idea she was going to die, and it could be years before her remains were located. They were found in October 2015. (Dorothy Boynton Rust via AP) (The Associated Press)

Map locates area on the Appalachian Trail where a hiker went missing in 2013; 4c x 3 3/4 inches; 195.7 mm x 95 mm; (The Associated Press)

The family of a hiker who died after getting lost on the Appalachian Trail in Maine isn't going to second-guess searchers.

A statement Friday evening says Geraldine Largay's family members witnessed the efforts of hundreds of searchers and that they know from visiting the location of her death how difficult it would've been to find her.

Documents released by the Maine Warden Service this week under Freedom of Access Act requests by media organizations indicate the 66-year-old Tennessee woman survived more than three weeks after getting lost in July 2013.

Her journal entries indicate she knew she was doing to die without being found.

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Online:

Maine Association for Search and Rescue: http://mainesearchandrescue.org

The Nature Conservancy: http://www.nature.org