Her husband was actually waiting for her 20 miles away in a parking lot, but she never arrived. It took two years before her disappearance was solved, and the truth of the trek finally emerged. What could have possibly happened to Largay? Was foul play involved?! Continue reading to find out!
A Nature Enthusiast
Geraldine Largay, or Gerry as she was known, was a retired nurse. She and her husband moved to Atlanta, and she was passionate about the environment. Ultimately, she spent many hours exploring the woods beside their home, which made what happened much more surprising!
A Nature Enthusiast
Adventure of a Lifetime
While Gerry was over 60, she was healthy and fit. In fact, she was empowered when walking for long periods and enjoyed being surrounded by nature. She had a bucket list idea for the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail hike, which took five to seven months to finish, but she was prepared mentally and physically!
Adventure Of A Lifetime
George Cared Deeply
Gerry’s husband wasn’t happy because she had a back injury, and the trek might be too strenuous. Still, he could do nothing more than support her ambitions, and they came up with a plan to make things easier for her. George wasn’t participating, but he agreed to drive to various checkpoints to give her supplies.
George Cared Deeply
Slow and Steady
Gerry and her friend, Jane Lee, set out for the adventure on April 23, 2013. Calling herself inchworm because of her slow pace, she carried a journal. The two ladies started in the middle, making their way up north, and Gerry couldn’t have been happier.
Slow And Steady
Unexpected Plan Change
Jane and Gerry made a great pair. They covered plenty of ground and helped each other. However, Jane ended up having a family emergency two months into the hike and had to quit. Though she begged, Gerry wanted to continue the trail and managed fine for three weeks.
Unexpected Plan Change
Her Last Photograph
Gerry stayed at Poplar Ridge Shelter the night of July 21 and made friends with Dorothy Boynton Rust. The next morning, she woke up and realized she was 22 miles away from where she could see George again. That’s when Dorothy took a picture of her. About 7:15 a.m., she texted her husband to tell him she was leaving.
Her Last Photograph
Lost Her Bearings
Gerry had planned to spend one night at the Spaulding Mountain Lean-to and hike to where the trail met Route 27. However, she had to urinate and walked into the forest to find a tree. When she finished, she realized she was way too deep in the forest and couldn’t remember how to get back to the trail!
Lost Her Bearings
Directionally Challenged and Flustered
By 11 a.m., she was lost in the woods. Jane had said that she’d taken wrong turns before and got combative and flustered. Now, though, Gerry was alone. She texted her husband at 11:01 to say she was lost. George never received the message because there was no signal.
Directionally Challenged And Flustered
Desolate and Dark in the Woods
Gerry continues walking deeper into the forest to find higher ground. However, the sun was starting to disappear, and dark clouds were rolling in. With no other choice, she pitched the tent and waited.
Desolate And Dark In The Woods
Gerry Delayed
The next morning, she awoke to a downpour. She decided to send another message, but that one didn’t send either. Ultimately, she knew today was her day to see George, but he wasn’t worried. While she pitched a tent, he slept in his SUV and hoped to see her face.
Gerry Delayed
No Trace
The rain stopped, but Gerry wasn’t there. Now, George was concerned, so he organized a search party to search for her. Gerry actually wasn’t far from the trail, but the search party still missed her!
No Trace
Surviving the Wilderness
Because of the sunny weather, Gerry kept going. She found a stream and was optimistic of her impending rescue. To stay calm, she reminded herself that she had three days worth of food and hung pieces of a silver blanket to catch a plane’s attention.
Surviving The Wilderness
Items Connected to the Disappearance
The search team found clues of Gerry, such as strands of hair, Band-aids, and blood droplets. However, testing proved that they weren’t hers. Dorothy Rust heard about her missing friend and sent the police a photo. This was printed on various fliers.
Items Connected To The Disappearance
Multiple False Leads
Various crazy theories surfaced about her disappearance. Some believed that suspicious men murdered her or that she was attacked by a bear. One group of hikers claimed they saw her near Spaulding Mountain, but the police just didn’t know!
Multiple False Leads
Searching the Wrong Area
An unknown hiker claimed to spend the night with Gerry at the Lean-to, so police focused the search on that particular area, but this was way off!
Searching The Wrong Area
Hope Dwindled
Search teams didn’t have much luck and went to searching by plane. Gerry heard them flying overhead and was relieved. Though she made noise, she realized that no one could see or hear her and was getting weak.
Hope Dwindled
Glimmer of Hope
Gerry finally ate the rest of her food and had little energy. She couldn’t bear the thought of George living without her and tried to hang on. Two weeks after she disappeared, there was no progress. This was now a missing person case.
Glimmer Of Hope
Gracefully Accepting Fate
On August 6, Gerry was still alive and hadn’t eaten in nine days. She tried sending one more text message, but there was no network. With little left in her, she lit a fire. Writing in her journal, she gave up and knew she was about to die.
Gracefully Accepting Fate
The Doppelganger Sheds Lights
At that time, another hiker in her 60s contacted the police. She fit Gerry’s description, but she was reserved and quiet. Everyone who claimed to see Gerry had actually found her doppelganger! This woman stayed at the same places, but she never saw her the day she got lost.
The Doppelganger Sheds Light
Can’t Find Gerry
Unfortunately, the doppelganger’s statement came too late. In those two weeks, Gerry went further into the woods, and there were too many false leads. Ironically, the land she was lost on was owned by the Navy and primarily used for SERE training, which helps soldiers learn how to avoid getting captured.
Can’t Find Gerry
Finally Found
A Navy forester finally found Gerry’s tent near the Appalachian Trail. She was inside her sleeping bag. The issue was she’d been missing for two years, two months, and 24 days. This poor man just solved a missing person’s case and reported it to appropriate authorities.
Finally Found
The Tragic Circumstances
They found Gerry’s journal with her body, and her last entry was dated August 18. However, authorities aren’t sure that this was correct. If so, that meant she’d been alive 26 days after the missing person’s report! In fact, her tent was about two miles north of the trail and just 30 minutes from lodging.
The Tragic Circumstances
Her Family, Her Priority
Gerry’s tent was filled with heart-wrenching things. She wrote each of her loved ones a letter. Up until the end, she was thinking of everyone else. George is ultimately grateful for those who looked for Gerry. More than 130 certified people assisted.
Her Family, Her Priority
A Compass, Map, and Survival Skills
Dee Dauphinee was inspired by Gerry’s story and wrote a bestseller about her. While Gerry’s search was unsuccessful, Dauphinee believes that rescuers couldn’t have done anything differently. He hopes that his book helps others save themselves if they’re in the woods. Continue reading to find out about the twist ending for Flora Stevens!
A Compass, Map, And Survival Skills
42 Years Missing and Found in a Strange Place
Imagine taking your loved one to the doctor for a checkup, and they’re gone. That’s what happened to a New York couple. The man took his wife to a doctor’s appointment in August 1975, but when he came back, he waited for her, and she was gone. It took 42 years to figure it out!
42 Years Missing And Found In A Strange Place
Just a Routine Cold
The day started like the others. The Stevens had a to-do list, with Florence (Flora) going to the doctor. Her husband drove her and never dreamed he might spend the night alone. This 36-year-old woman was adventurous and exciting.
Just A Routine Cold
The Catskills Resort
1975 was a year of fun, and Flora seemed to have the best times at her job. She worked at a hip and lavish resort called The Concord, which was in the Catskills. It held 1,200 rooms and was a great place to unwind.
The Catskills Resort
Education Is Crucial
During the investigation about her whereabouts, detectives found that she attended Lincoln High School. However, they weren’t sure how an old high school name might help them now. With little to go on, they only knew she was married to Robert Stevens.
Education Is Crucial
End of the Line
Back then, people couldn’t use the internet to keep up with family members. It was actually much harder to find someone. Even Flora’s husband didn’t know where she went. There were just no breadcrumbs to leave them or a cell phone to track.
End Of The Line
Going Cold
Robert and the detectives tried to determine what happened to her. However, the days turned to weeks and months. Leads went nowhere, so the case was marked as an unsolved one. Even Robert chose to stop looking for her to get closure. About half a century later, the case was solved!
Going Cold
Fresh Eyes
Once the case was cold, no one picked it up until 2017. Then, Yan Salomon learned an interesting fact that burst open the case. This senior investigator went through old files and realized that something familiar was there. He continued looking and believed he solved it. He had found human remains and believed that woman was Flora!
Fresh Eyes
Putting Together the Pieces
Over the course of several days, Salomon made phone calls about the remains. He called the Sullivan County Sheriff’s office and talked to a detective, explaining how he had found the remains of a woman in the area. The detective chose to help him identify this body!
Putting Together The Pieces
Playing a Numbers Game
Roughly 70,000 women go missing each year in the US, and some are cold cases. For Salomon, that made it hard for him to do it all alone. With a keen eye and a bit of luck, he promised to find out what happened to Flora.
Playing A Numbers Game
On the Hunt
Salomon required database access to figure out whose body this was and if it was Flora’s. He realized that sifting through 21,894 files took too long, so he gathered a team to help. While it took a lot of time, they were all focused.
On The Hunt
Wrong Trail
After so many hours, Salomon asked for another favor. He asked the team to find living friends or relatives that could be connected to this body. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do it, and Flora’s case remained unsolved.
Wrong Trail
Handing It Off
With so much time and effort invested, Salomon had to hand off the case to Detective Rich Morgan. He couldn’t crack it alone or with his team. Rich took it over and was tasked with connecting the body and Flora’s case. Somehow, he knew there was a link and continued digging.
Handing It Off
The Missing Link
Detective Morgan finally caught a break when he saw the woman’s ID badge. They had a name for the body that Salomon had earlier found. This badge proved she worked in the Catskills Mountains and went missing around the same time.
The Missing Link
More and More Dead Ends
Days turned to weeks and months with no other clues. Again, Robert lost hope and passed away 10 years after the report of her going missing. That made things more complicated for the detective because there were no more living relatives.
More And More Dead Ends
What Changed Everything
With modern technology, Detective Morgan had what he needed. He searched the Social Security Database and discovered that Flora’s number was being used.
What Changed Everything
The Weirdest
Detective Morgan drove to an assisted-living facility and asked to see Flora Harris, which was Flora Steven’s maiden name. He was finally face-to-face with the woman who caused such a fuss. This poor woman experienced psychiatric issues and run away only to become confused and forgetful.
The Weirdest