Inchworms Journal during 26 days lost...newest report

[Turtle Feet]

Furthermore, if it were true that Gerry was texting at 2:15pm on the 22nd, then that would infer that she was still on the trail (somewhere). That means to me that the NOBO that had lunch at Spaulding with Crunchmaster would have passed her, surely Ivanich would have passed her, and possibly any SOBO's that stayed at Spaulding on Monday night should have passed her. Certainly, searchers would have a much better estimation of her last known whereabouts. Why would all the information relayed to the public state the last anyone heard from her was at 7:15am on the 22nd?

Interesting if it's true though.

[Tigerslair]

Attroll's post #343 related that Gerry texted George on Monday at 7:15 a.m. that she was heading to Spaulding LT. George's message in post #1300 says "2:15 p.m. today will be two weeks since I last had contact from Gerry (a text). The last photo we have of her was from 7:15 a.m., also two weeks ago..." Unless I'm misunderstanding something, it sounds like all of these occurred on the same day.

[Turtle Feet]

Yeah, this confuses the heck out of me. Seems VERY unlikely then if Gerry were on the trail and using her phone at 1420, that Ivanic would not have passed her.

[Madthrush]

Yeah, this confuses the heck out of me. Seems VERY unlikely then if Gerry were on the trail and using her phone at 1420, that Ivanic would not have passed her.

And recall, Ivanich was spotted at 3 pm by Crunchmaster (or so we assume) -- So if niether Ivanich NOBO or Crunchmaster SOBO passed Gerry, yet they passed one another at 3pm, and IF Gerry did indeed text at 215 from the trail, she had to have gotten off trail in that 45 minute period supposedly just ahead of Ivanich.

[fudgefoot]

I think it's time to get back on topic. If it is foul play, logic tells us it can't be anyone waiting at the trailhead. If she had gotten that far, she would have been spotted. That section is described as one of the most remote stretches excluding the wilderness and she was smack dab in the middle. Yes, there is a dirt road, but it took me one hour to get there by that road, and I was fortunate that I got that far with the down trees and the crevices.

I hiked that section NOBO two weeks ago. I clearly heard a very close motor as I approached Orbeton Stream. There is a woods road just north of Orbeton Stream and an ATV or something was apparently up there. So it is not as remote as I thought.

[quasarr]

Do ATVs use the old railroad bed that is north of the stream?

[Don H]

Attroll's post #343 related that Gerry texted George on Monday at 7:15 a.m. that she was heading to Spaulding LT. George's message in post #1300 says "2:15 p.m. today will be two weeks since I last had contact from Gerry (a text). The last photo we have of her was from 7:15 a.m., also two weeks ago..." Unless I'm misunderstanding something, it sounds like all of these occurred on the same day.

A text at 2:15? I thought it was a "ping" at about 3:00.

Wonder what the text said and if there was any indications of a problem.

[modiyooch]

I hiked that section NOBO two weeks ago. I clearly heard a very close motor as I approached Orbeton Stream. There is a woods road just north of Orbeton Stream and an ATV or something was apparently up there. So it is not as remote as I thought.

Do you think they may have been searching for Gerry?

[Turtle Feet]

Granted, this quote is from the press, but it's all we've ever heard about, Monday morning being the last text from Gerry. I do believe that 1415 text George is referring to in that email to his church friends was from Sunday, the day before her last contact. The info regarding the call at 1420 on Monday stated the the call George made was received by her phone - I think that's different that her answering the call. All our previous info stated that on July 22 she received a text message at 0930 that she didn't respond to, and a call at 1420 that her phone "received" :

"On Sunday, July 21, Gerry Largay departed the Appalachian Trail's Route 4 crossing in Sandy River Plantation, near Rangeley. Later that day, she text-messaged her husband and told him she was on top of Saddleback Mountain, and that she intended to spend the night at the Poplar Ridge lean-to in Redington Township. Her last text-message to him came in the morning hours of Monday, July 22, indicating she was heading north on the trail. Her next stop would have been the Spaulding Mountain lean-to."

[Anghiker]

ATV's do use that logging road just north of Oberton Stream. We were hiking up in that area last week. We decided to day hike that area and drove into via the old Railroad Gauge Road as far as we felt we could. We then walked in about 3 miles to Sluice brook and crossed it and then we were on the AT. We were able to see many AT tracks and some even seemed like they could be from a truck. There were some washouts but at 4X4 could get throught easily to about half mile to a mile of Sluice brook. We left our vehicle there and hike north on the AT to CVR. Next day we came in from Saddleback and hiked N. on AT to Sluice brook and walked back to our vehicle. We were very tired and didn't start walking those 3 miles on back to the truck till about 5:30PM. It took us 1.5 hours to get back and I was a little concerned that we would meet some good ole boys on ATV's before we reached our vehicle but we didn't.
My point is someone could very easily get in that area. After you come out about 4 miles there are many logging roads in there some with camps.
Not knowing what happen to 'Inchworm" makes me wonder if someone was there when she came up that steep bank from Oberton Stream.

[Turtle Feet]

My son is nearing the end of this thru-hike this year and happened to stay at Poplar Shelter last night. He sent me a text this morning to say that he ran into some of Inchworm's friends there last night. Today is her birthday.

[ATSeamstress]

My son is nearing the end of this thru-hike this year and happened to stay at Poplar Shelter last night. He sent me a text this morning to say that he ran into some of Inchworm's friends there last night. Today is her birthday.

How sweet that her friends celebrated her birthday at Poplar! When I pass through there, hopefully next year, I will certainly be thinking of her.

[BirdBrain]

My son is nearing the end of this thru-hike this year and happened to stay at Poplar Shelter last night. He sent me a text this morning to say that he ran into some of Inchworm's friends there last night. Today is her birthday.

Thank you for this detail TF. I did not know it was her birthday today. It will be an easy date to remember. I would hope her life and story has had more of an effect on people than just a curious mystery. When something like this happens, I would hope it changes people. It has changed me. Not going to list how, because someone would criticize them. That is what some people do best. The point is, Inchworm, you have have an effect on me. I am glad to know it is your birthday. It will be remembered in this house.

[muddy boots]

Am sending donation, with a company matching donation, to Maine Association for Search and Rescue in Gerry's memory, today, as a "birthday present". Remembering her advice to me, and thinking of her on her birthday.

[Bluebearee]

Do ATVs use the old railroad bed that is north of the stream?

I walked in a mile on the next woods road (~2 miles north of Orbeton) back in August off the driveable Barnjum Rd and yes that woods road is ATV accessible. We passed two guys on ATVs on our way back out.

[turtle fast]

Again I am finding myself mystified on how she just seemingly vanished. I keep wondering if the sweep on the sides of the trail was not wide enough.

[SawnieRobertson]

I walked in a mile on the next woods road (~2 miles north of Orbeton) back in August off the driveable Barnjum Rd and yes that woods road is ATV accessible. We passed two guys on ATVs on our way back out.

Thank you, Bluebearee. What comes to my mind is why the universal response early on was that "NO! The vegetation along the trail is much too dense for foul play to have happened?" I cannot imagine someone of Inchworm's obvious intelligence pushing her way into such stuff, vegetation so dense that a predator could not possibly arrive where she was but not so dense that she could not vanish into it of her own misguided doiing.
I believe that it was the statements of the Wardens (as reported by the press(es) that resulted in the dismissal of the conclusion that somebody could be responsible for her disappearance, especially when they put out the idea that there was no foul play because they found no evidence to substantiate that having happened. Her disappearance is all the evidence I need--not that it happened, but that it could have happened. I am with Anghiker. Perhaps now that so much more information has surfaced, a wider search between miles between miles +/- 1972.5 and Sluice Brook would prove profitable. Where is Weary when we need him?

[SawnieRobertson]

. . . Anghiker and Turtle Feet.

[SawnieRobertson]

. . . and farther east and west.

[wakapak]

In a few different media reports that were out in the weeks following her disappearance they said they had not ruled out foul play. However, they can't specifically say it is foul play without any type of evidence pointing to it...kind of odd, but I can understand in law enforcement and investigation terms why; if there's nothing to prove it then you can't say it is. With that being said, I do recall reading quite a few times in various media reports that the Wardens and SAR had not ruled foul play out of the picture.