Inchworms Journal during 26 days lost...newest report

[Water Rat]

I think it is highly unlikely Inchworm wandered for days, before finding her campsite. She had a phone and a whistle and would most likely have used both if she felt she was that lost.

Given that she was found just off a tote road, it is highly likely she didn’t turn when she was supposed to follow the AT, and then she kept walking on the tote road. If she was feeling unwell, she might have decided to make camp and then look for the trail in the morning when she was feeling better. If she accidentally followed the tote road, she may also have decided to make camp and then look for the trail in the morning. Hikers are taught to be a bit more discreet about their camping spots (in relation to roads) and she may well have followed that advice. Being found is a good thing, unless it is by people who are not very nice.

In her last photo, Inchworm looks happy and healthy.

It is quite possible she had a heart related medical event.
She was a hiker and had probably suffered falls during her hike. In that event, a blood clot could have dislodged and caused her to have a medical event (heart, brain, or lung related).

For either of these scenarios, people sometimes experience extreme weariness prior to the actual event because the heart is working too hard and the blockage does not allow the body to circulate more than "just enough" blood to keep the body going for a bit. Taking a wrong turn and then suddenly feeling like crap still leaves you able to think, but your reactions are slowed down. She made camp. She may have made it through one night, but it is highly unlikely she was still alive when searchers were dispatched to look for her. “Starvation and dehydration” is just language used to as a possible explanation when nothing to the contrary presents itself when the person is found in the woods.

It is highly probably Inchworm made camp and then passed in her sleep. May she R.I.P. I hope her family and friends are able to find peace.

[tdoczi]

I think it is highly unlikely Inchworm wandered for days, before finding her campsite. She had a phone and a whistle and would most likely have used both if she felt she was that lost.

Given that she was found just off a tote road, it is highly likely she didn’t turn when she was supposed to follow the AT, and then she kept walking on the tote road. If she was feeling unwell, she might have decided to make camp and then look for the trail in the morning when she was feeling better. If she accidentally followed the tote road, she may also have decided to make camp and then look for the trail in the morning. Hikers are taught to be a bit more discreet about their camping spots (in relation to roads) and she may well have followed that advice. Being found is a good thing, unless it is by people who are not very nice.

In her last photo, Inchworm looks happy and healthy.

It is quite possible she had a heart related medical event.
She was a hiker and had probably suffered falls during her hike. In that event, a blood clot could have dislodged and caused her to have a medical event (heart, brain, or lung related).

For either of these scenarios, people sometimes experience extreme weariness prior to the actual event because the heart is working too hard and the blockage does not allow the body to circulate more than "just enough" blood to keep the body going for a bit. Taking a wrong turn and then suddenly feeling like crap still leaves you able to think, but your reactions are slowed down. She made camp. She may have made it through one night, but it is highly unlikely she was still alive when searchers were dispatched to look for her. “Starvation and dehydration” is just language used to as a possible explanation when nothing to the contrary presents itself when the person is found in the woods.

It is highly probably Inchworm made camp and then passed in her sleep. May she R.I.P. I hope her family and friends are able to find peace.

all well and good except the official cause of death is starvation. how do they know that? beats me, but if we're going to second guess the ME then basically anything and everything remains on the table.

[TexasBob]

all well and good except the official cause of death is starvation. how do they know that? beats me, but if we're going to second guess the ME then basically anything and everything remains on the table.

The official cause of death is "Inanition due to prolonged environmental exposure". Inanition is a state of exhaustion due to lack of nutrition.
I think that there are two possibilities:
1. It may be that inanition is a "diagnosis by exclusion" meaning that if no other cause is found then a person whose remains are found like Inchworm was is assumed to have died of inanition
2. They found her cellphone and the State Police recovered information on the phone that she lost the trail after heading north from Oberton Stream. They may have also recovered other information on the phone that Inchworm left behind but have not revealed that information at the families request.

[tdoczi]

The official cause of death is "Inanition due to prolonged environmental exposure". Inanition is a state of exhaustion due to lack of nutrition.
I think that there are two possibilities:
1. It may be that inanition is a "diagnosis by exclusion" meaning that if no other cause is found then a person whose remains are found like Inchworm was is assumed to have died of inanition
2. They found her cellphone and the State Police recovered information on the phone that she lost the trail after heading north from Oberton Stream. They may have also recovered other information on the phone that Inchworm left behind but have not revealed that information at the families request.

i'm willing to believe almost anything, but, i would LIKE to think the ME isnt just making things up or making probable guesses. sounds like, by whatever magic, he knows the cause of death. and as i said, if we're going to go with "hes just saying that" then all manner of things are possible. maybe she was camped there for one night when a crazed lunatic happened upon her and slit her wrists and throat and she bled to death and her remains did not reveal this. (please no one explain to me why this cant be so, youre missing my point if you do).

or we can hope the ME knows what he/she is talking about and she did in fact starve to death. if we assume that to be true, i have a hard time buying the notion she got in her tent the first day she was missing and sat there until enough time had passed for that to happen.

i'm glad the report elaborates on what is meant by "exposure" in this case because the notion of someone dying in summer of hypothermia or similar while zipped up in their bag AND tent is kind of kooky.

[TexasBob]

i'm willing to believe almost anything, but, i would LIKE to think the ME isnt just making things up or making probable guesses. sounds like, by whatever magic, he knows the cause of death. and as i said, if we're going to go with "hes just saying that" then all manner of things are possible. maybe she was camped there for one night when a crazed lunatic happened upon her and slit her wrists and throat and she bled to death and her remains did not reveal this. (please no one explain to me why this cant be so, youre missing my point if you do).

or we can hope the ME knows what he/she is talking about and she did in fact starve to death. if we assume that to be true, i have a hard time buying the notion she got in her tent the first day she was missing and sat there until enough time had passed for that to happen.

i'm glad the report elaborates on what is meant by "exposure" in this case because the notion of someone dying in summer of hypothermia or similar while zipped up in their bag AND tent is kind of kooky.

You are free to believe anything you want. I am satisfied that the Medical Examiner did the best they could with the evidence available and there is no reason I my mind to doubt their findings. In a case like this there is a limit to what forensic science can determine and that is the reality of the situation. I don't think we will ever know the exact circumstances of what happened.

[tdoczi]

You are free to believe anything you want. I am satisfied that the Medical Examiner did the best they could with the evidence available and there is no reason I my mind to doubt their findings. In a case like this there is a limit to what forensic science can determine and that is the reality of the situation. I don't think we will ever know the exact circumstances of what happened.

i'm not doubting anything, the ME says starvation, she died of starvation. end of story. it is others (i believe you among them, though i might be mistaken) who are playing "yeah thats what the ME says but..." and all i am saying is we're going to play that game then lest really play it.

personally, she starved to death works for me. so in the spirit of that, we can all stop talking about how she might have had a heart attack or died of hypothermia or whatever else, and if we want to have a productive discussion lets make it about how she ended up starving to death.

[George]

in the end IMO what is important is the absence of foul play - medical incident/ starvation etc is irregardless - she passed away doing what she wanted to do without adverse input from others

if it was me, it would be difficult to imagine a way I would prefer to go

that being said, if I was the spouse, the lack of foul play would be some relief - but I would be pretty hard on myself for not accompanying her, illogical as that might be - I hope her spouse has some good support

the second guessing is BS - in town or in the bush any emergency service can not be blamed if they performed a reasonable effort (and that was done here) - you do not spend a billion looking for a single person, well maybe Bin Laden

[V8]

She'd been hiking for months, probably essentially exhausted and just dedicated to plowing thru. Expected resupply the next day. So, little food on board. Lost during rain and wind, so certainly wet and very cold. Stream raging. Maybe no good map of area, or ability to locate self. Phone wouldn't work there. A perfect storm of bad luck.
The only time I HAD to pull out a compass and map was in this area when I got turned around in fog. Her situation is fully believable as reported.

[TexasBob]

She'd been hiking for months, probably essentially exhausted and just dedicated to plowing thru. Expected resupply the next day. So, little food on board. Lost during rain and wind, so certainly wet and very cold. Stream raging. Maybe no good map of area, or ability to locate self. Phone wouldn't work there. A perfect storm of bad luck.
The only time I HAD to pull out a compass and map was in this area when I got turned around in fog. Her situation is fully believable as reported.

I think you summed it up pretty well. One factor that I think gets overlooked is that she was 66. When you are 66 you maybe able to do the things you did at 36 but you are not as resilient and you don't recover as quickly when you get tired and worn out. You don't have the reserves of energy you had when you are younger.

[Traillium]

I think you summed it up pretty well. One factor that I think gets overlooked is that she was 66. When you are 66 you maybe able to do the things you did at 36 but you are not as resilient and you don't recover as quickly when you get tired and worn out. You don't have the reserves of energy you had when you are younger.

V8 and TexasBob have it, IMHO.
I'm hoping — being 65 — that one advantage I'll have is a bit of accumulated experience and maybe even some wisdom.


Bruce Traillium

[Offshore]

Chris Busby, all all who helped and enabled him, are ghouls dancing on a good person's grave squealing 'look at me! look at me!'

No worse than the "CSI - White Blaze" turn this thread has taken in which people with no first hand knowledge of the incident use it as a pastime for pointless speculation and SERE conspiracy theories.

[Puddlefish]

No worse than the "CSI - White Blaze" turn this thread has taken in which people with no first hand knowledge of the incident use it as a pastime for pointless speculation and SERE conspiracy theories.

I was considering posting with the "Too many people are watching CSI" theory. I like yours better. I see some misunderstanding of technical terms, leading to misinformation, leading to people taking that misinformation as fact and running with it into a conspiracy theory.

I've only been on these forums recently, so overall, I'm glad this thread exists as a cautionary tale. I didn't know the poor lady, but hopefully some good can be served by discussing the events.

I've learned that even after a thousand or more miles on the trail, you still have to be aware of your own limitations and take steps to mitigate and overcome those limitations.

[Offshore]

I've learned that even after a thousand or more miles on the trail, you still have to be aware of your own limitations and take steps to mitigate and overcome those limitations.

Pretty much sums it up. I'd add that one needs to honestly re-evaluate those limitations as time marches on. No one's getting any younger.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Step 1) Hypothesize far fetched theory
Step 2) Ignore contradictory evidence
Step 3) Embrace lack/gaps of evidence as supporting evidence
Step 4) Arrive at tinfoil hat conclusion

Sound familiar?

[Offshore]

Step 1) Hypothesize far fetched theory
Step 2) Ignore contradictory evidence
Step 3) Embrace lack/gaps of evidence as supporting evidence
Step 4) Arrive at tinfoil hat conclusion

Sound familiar?

Indeed - 109 pages and counting familiar.

[Don H]

Step 1) Hypothesize far fetched theory
Step 2) Ignore contradictory evidence
Step 3) Embrace lack/gaps of evidence as supporting evidence
Step 4) Arrive at tinfoil hat conclusion

Sound familiar?

Or we might just learn something that is important to the safety of hikers. This is why almost all SAR organizations do after action reviews.

[Offshore]

Or we might just learn something that is important to the safety of hikers. This is why almost all SAR organizations do after action reviews.

The difference being SAR after action reviews are based on facts from participation in a rescue/recovery event or supplied by an organization that did. What we have here is not that - not by a long shot.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Or we might just learn something that is important to the safety of hikers. This is why almost all SAR organizations do after action reviews.

I think you missed my point.

[TexasBob]

Indeed - 109 pages and counting familiar.

You could go and read the 800+ redundant posts of people whining about Baxter State Park instead or the 89 redundant posts about coffee on the trail.

[Offshore]

You could go and read the 800+ redundant posts of people whining about Baxter State Park instead or the 89 redundant posts about coffee on the trail.

Ha! Don't forget the Jurek thread ecosystem family of threads...