US5 min(s) read
Published 11:11 03 Jun 2026 GMT
Geraldine Largay, 66, was making her way through the popular Appalachian Trail in the Eastern US before going missing.
The tragic incident resulted in the elderly woman sadly passing away.
It is believed that the Tennessee native survived for 26 days in the wild before her death, with her body remaining missing for two years.
'Gerry', as she is known to loved ones, went missing on July 22, 2013, after stepping off the Appalachian Trail to relieve herself, before getting lost between West Virginia and Mount Katahdin, Maine.
A picture of Gerry taken on the morning of the day she disappeared, eerily, remained as the most substantial clue.
The former air force nurse was missing for over two years until authorities discovered her remains in the wild.
Gerry was discovered by Lieutenant Kevin Adam, a forester employed by the US Navy, on October 16, 2015.
It came after at least three K9 units came within 100 yards of her campsite, though they failed to find the missing woman or her body.
Reports from the Boston Globe, which included a 1,500-page study into Gerry's disappearance and death, included statements from Lieutenant Adam, admitting he found a "possible body" in October 2015.
He recalled thinking: "The possibilities were: it was a human body; it was animal bones, or if it was a human body, was it Gerry Largay?"
Tragically, Gerry's husband, George Largay, was not far away on the morning she vanished, as he used the Route 27 Crossing, which was approximately a 22-mile trek from the shelter where Gerry was last seen.
Documents revealed that she had tried several times to get in touch with George after becoming lost.
The first of these messages were typed at about 11AM on the day she went missing, and it read: "In somm trouble. Got off trail to go to br. Now lost. Can u call AMC to c if a trail maintainer can help me. Somewhere north of woods road. XOX."
However, she did not have a great cellular signal, so the text message never reached her husband.
Sadly, over the next 90 minutes, she would text her husband another 10 times, asking for help, before deciding to settle down for the night.
The next day, she sent another undelivered text at 4:18PM, reading: "Lost since yesterday. Off trail 3 or 4 miles. Call police for what to do pls. XOX."
Her remains would be discovered at her makeshift campsite, along with her notebook, which was covered in moss and titled "George Please Read XOXO".
The notebook detailed that she had spent two days wandering aimlessly after taking a wrong turn, and wardens were able to paint a picture of Gerry's final days thanks to her journal entries and unsent texts, according to the Daily Record.
A particular journal entry was one of Gerry's last messages to loved ones, penned on August 6, 2013.
She wrote: "When you find my body, please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry.
"It will be the greatest kindness for them to know that I am dead and where you found me – no matter how many years from now.
"Please find it in your heart to mail the contents of this bag to one of them."
In addition to her body, other items were found at the campsite, including maps, a space blanket, string, a working torch, a blue baseball cap, a rain jacket, dental floss, and a handmade necklace.
George told the Brentwood Home Page in 2013 that hiking the Appalachian Trail was "not on my bucket list," but noted that his wife needed help.
"But she needed to be supported on the hike, because she had limits on what she could carry, so I simply had to say, 'OK, suck it up. What's six months in the grand scheme of things?' So I did it," he said.
Jane Lee, one of Gerry's close friends, completed a chunk of the trail with her before being called away with a personal emergency, and she had told wardens that Gerry struggled to keep pace and wasn't the best with a compass.
The woman's family released an official statement following her death, reading: "After all of the communication and information from everyone involved, including the Medical Examiner's Office, Navy, and the Maine Attorney General's Office, these findings are conclusive in that no foul play was involved and that Gerry simply made a wrong turn shortly after crossing Orbeton Stream.
"We wish to thank all of those who gave their time and prayers while searching for our wife, sister, mother, and grandmother. We especially would like to thank the entire Maine Warden Service for their dedication to this case.
"It became apparent from day one that this was personal to them and they would not rest until Gerry was found.
"Now that we know her death was an accident, we again ask all media for the respect of our privacy as we continue our grieving process with this new chapter of closure."
