CT State Police Search For Missing Hiker on Appalachian Trail in Kent

[Hiker8261]

[COLOR=rgba(13, 13, 13, 0.9)](CT) State police are searching for a missing hiker along the Appalachian Trail in Kent.
They say 60-year-old Marta Renee Bowen went missing from her campsite on the trail. Her cell phone and hiking gear were left behind, according to state police.
She has been missing since about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, state police said.
Bowen has gray hair and brown eyes. She is about 5'7" tall and may be wearing a maroon puffer jacket and dark pants.
If anyone locates her or has information on her whereabouts is asked to call State Police Troop L in Litchfield at (860) 626-7900.[/COLOR]
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/...-kent/3025486/
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...6489457&type=3

[SD_Motak]

Did she leave behind all of her hiking gear? Itemizing what she left behind may reveal clues as to what she may have taken with her (if anything) and what she was doing before going missing. For example, if the list doesn't include toiletry items (deuce shovel, wipes, toilet paper, soap, etc), she may have left the trail to take care of business - and then something happened.

[LazyLightning]

I couldn't see what campsite, if one of the group campsites by the Housatonic River the water levels have been high lately. I'm sure they are considering all possibilities.

[tiptoe]

https://www.newstimes.com/news/artic...t-18077211.php

More details here, but no resolution yet.

[Hiker8261]

Hearing on the fire radio, she has been found alive by other hikers and is walking out to meet EMS & PD as of appx 3:45pm. It has been 2 1/2 days since she was reported missing. We have had rain on and off and temps in the 40s overnight.

[Kaptainkriz]

This is good news: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2175...1594338356589/

Hearing on the fire radio, she has been found alive by other hikers and is walking out to meet EMS & PD as of appx 3:45pm. It has been 2 1/2 days since she was reported missing. We have had rain on and off and temps in the 40s overnight.

[gpburdelljr]

One of the news reports stated:

“Bowen was able to find other hikers on the trail on Friday and used their phone to call 911, DEEP said. First responders located her in Kent several miles south of her campsite.”

I wonder if we’ll ever her the rest of the story.

[Traveler]

I wonder if we’ll ever her the rest of the story.

I have a lot of empathy for anyone who experiences these sometimes exceptionally frightening circumstance. In this particular instance a hiker was lost for around 3-days. What would have been helpful for anyone to help in the search or planning would have been to identify the camping area the hiker was at. There are several camping areas with a "Lean-to" structures in the Town of Kent along the AT, starting at 10-mile River lean-to and camping area, Schaghicoke Mountain campsite, Mt Algo lean-to and camping area, Stewart Hollow lean-to and camping area, Stoney Brook camping area, and Silver Hill campsite.

That is a lot of woodland to walk thru (approximately 19-trail miles) when searching for a lost hiker. Perhaps next time someone will think about identifying the site so people who are familiar with the area can offer some good ideas of where someone would go if leaving camp, Being familiar with that area of the AT, I know of a few places where different trails intersect and the blazes may not have been refreshed, like the Pond Mountain trail branching off the AT at Caleb's peak, which can be an unnoticed surprise and has snagged me before.

There is a lot of mystery around this 3-day disappearance to be sure. I am happy the hiker was found unharmed and just a little worse for wear as opposed to the alternative. But like gpburdelljr, since State and Town resources were used, I too would like a report of what happened so others can learn vicariously from the occurrence and possibly avoid the mistakes that were made.

[gpburdelljr]

I saw one article that said the woman may have left her tent in the middle of the night, and ended up getting lost. If that is the case, then something as simple as leaving a light on in the tent so you can find it in the dark may have been useful.

[GoldenBear]

What would have been helpful for anyone to help in the search or planning would have been to identify the camping area the hiker was at

Over the decades, professional SAR personnel have learned that people just showing up to "assist," particularly when they are untrained or don't even report to authorities, are far more of a hindrance than a help. If you think you can help with the knowledge of the area, contact the authorities conducting the search, and explain what you think you can offer. They might say, "Wow!! You're exactly the person we need!"; or they might say, "Thanks -- we'll get back to you if we decide you can help." Because too often people just start "helping" in a way that unintentionally hinders the search, there is a tendency to NOT give this information lest the wrong type of help arrives.

A fully agree that a full report on what went wrong would be very useful to future hikers. However, sometimes the person just wants to maintain privacy on these matters. The fact that public money was expended on this is irrelevant to whether or not a full report is made public.

[One Half]

I always carry my Inreach mini in the dark or for "natural breaks" or for water collection (like near shelters). You never know what can happen.

[LittleRock]

Missing hiker was found alive:

NC hiker found alive days after going missing from Appalachian Trail in Connecticut (msn.com)

[blue indian]

Yet no details on HOW she went missing. Why are so many articles like this?

These details are important for preventing future accidents

[LazyLightning]

I agree. From what I gathered she was found near Skiff Mountain Rd. and they say she was found a couple miles south of the campsite, which they specifically said was a lean to in Kent. The only option this leaves to me is the Stewart Hollow Brook lean to along the river walk. That is the northern most lean to in Kent and the next one south is way south of Skiff Mountain Rd. so that wouldn't make sense. Still a lot of things don't add up.

[gpburdelljr]

My guess is that she left the tent in the middle of the night for a call of nature, got turned around, and ended up lost.

[TwoSpirits]

I haven't been hiking in CT, but can see how this can happen. I've camped in places that are very densely wooded and can be quite dark on moonless or rainy nights. I will often locate a spot and pre-dig a cathole before I turn in for the night -- this helps for an unexpected midnight run as well as those mornings when nature calls early. I have a few strips of surveyor's tape that I will wrap around branches or bushes, and they help lead me there & back in the dark (and of course I collect them before heading out in the morning.) I don't leave a light on inside my tent because I take my headlamp with me, but I imagine that could also be helpful. And I always have a whistle -- not on my pack strap, but around my neck, so that it's always with me. Never have had to use it, but it's there if I do become disoriented and lost.

[BillyGr]

I agree. From what I gathered she was found near Skiff Mountain Rd. and they say she was found a couple miles south of the campsite, which they specifically said was a lean to in Kent. The only option this leaves to me is the Stewart Hollow Brook lean to along the river walk. That is the northern most lean to in Kent and the next one south is way south of Skiff Mountain Rd. so that wouldn't make sense. Still a lot of things don't add up.

That certainly seems odd. To get to that road from the campsite/lean to (which is actually about 4 miles north via trail), one would have to climb up St. John's Ledges, which, if someone was lost seems a strange way to go (being as how you've been on a dirt road that continues when the trail turns off to the right, and usually has some vehicles parked on it, meaning that it would be known to be a road that goes somewhere).

The next lean-to north is Mt. Algo, but to get from there to Skiff Mountain Road, you would cross 341, which is a much larger road and would be more obvious to most to stay there and try to get assistance.

Thus, it is just hard to figure out how someone would wind up on that particular road from anywhere along that part of the trail - unless there are some back routes that are easier to follow off in the woods away from the trail itself?

[gpburdelljr]

We need Paul Harvey with ‘The Rest of the Story’.

[LazyLightning]

exactly what I was thinking... You are at a low elevation by the river for miles either way from that lean to, to travel up hill and end up at Skiff Mountain Rd. seems very odd. Mt. Algo lean to is south of it but agreed that one makes less sense.