Weird lost hiker story

[PlainJain]

Story here. (http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=95300&provider=top)
Rescuers at Allegany State Park are asking for the public's help in their search for a missing 92-year-old hiker.

They're trying to figure out where a stone structure, seen in the hand-drawn picture to the right of this story, is located inside the park.The strange part is the daughter rendered a very detailed drawing (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1030/5181274527_7981c396f1_z.jpg) of a structure she said was near where she left her father. I hike a lot. I don't think a thing like that could escape notice in any of the parks I hike in - especially on a trail. But after a couple of days there is no information on what this Item is.

I hope the old fellow is found unharmed an OK.

UPDATE. (http://www.buffalonews.com/city/police-courts/police-blotter/article254717.ece)

[aceplace57]

Maybe it's the foundation of an old shed or commercial building? I'm surprised no one has recognized it. Teens often find places like that for parties/drinking. We had a couple near my old high school.

[UncleRojelio]

Come on people! It's 2010. If you are going hiking in the woods, carry a GPS. Billions of dollars of infrastructure are orbiting our heads right now for the sole purpose of locating stuff in the woods. Use it!

[Telemark]

Come on people! It's 2010. If you are going hiking in the woods, carry a GPS. Billions of dollars of infrastructure are orbiting our heads right now for the sole purpose of locating stuff in the woods. Use it!
Not needed, don't want it.

[Barkis is Willin']

Do they have any idea where the daughter exited the woods? Can't they use satelite image from there to try to find/identify the structure? Odd that it has been days and they're still baffled.

[PlainJain]

Not needed, don't want it.

Sometimes I carry one and sometimes I don't but if I was 92...

[TruCelt]

A structure that size should be visible from google maps. If they are so interested in finding it, why haven't they givent he public the full path information? (i.e. they started out here, she was found on the road here. . .)

She'd have to be pretty stupid to have made up that level of detail. It's also strange that they describe it as "remains." laquered rocks don't stay bright and shiny very long.

[DrDeth]

Appears to be some sort of drain.

Here's some good news about another man:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hiker-20101001,0,2411903.story

I want to emphasise this part:
"For someone on a day hike, Rosenthal was very well-equipped. Joe Zarki, a park ranger, noted that he had three or four liters of water, snack food, a space blanket, a whistle and flares.
He hiked for about a day and a half, descending almost 2,000 feet down the canyon, and then he ran out of food and water.

"At that point, he realized he was in some difficulty," Zarki said. "Once he found his spot, he thought he was better off staying there and that's what you're supposed to do.""

1. Have some survival gear- signaling, fire, blanket, extra layer, water, food.
2. Once you realize you are lost, find a good spot and hunker down.

[UncleRojelio]

Not needed, don't want it.

You don't need matches to start a fire either but I bet you carry some.

[Telemark]

You don't need matches to start a fire either but I bet you carry some.
Depends on the hike. I don't carry any emergency kit when out for a trail run usually. On a summer day hike my emergency kit is pretty small; some F/A stuff, a lighter, compass, and a few other items. Overnights and winter day hikes have correspondingly more stuff. Unless I'm planning to bushwack I wouldn't consider a GPS here in the northeast. Out west I would consider it more seriously.

[ratatoskK]

Maybe she was hallucinating. Did they try bloodhounds? Can't they track back to where she started?

[Emily Litella]

Were they following a trail? How well marked are the trails in the park? Did they decide to start bushwhacking?
I got lost on a hike a couple months ago, but realized I was going in the wrong direction on the trail I was on. I always use a map and research the trail online before I go anywhere new. I always carry a small first aid kit, snake bite kit, matches, flashlight, space blanket and all the water I can carry comfortably.

[An Arky]

Sounds fishy to me. She leaves him out there in that state, miraculously finds her car and has some wild story.

[Wallenstein]

"For someone on a day hike, Rosenthal was very well-equipped. Joe Zarki, a park ranger, noted that he had three or four liters of water, snack food, a space blanket, a whistle and flares."
I can't see how having a groovy pair of strides will help in this situation, but fair play to Ranger Zarki for adding a bit of sartorial commentary.

[Barkis is Willin']

The search continues as of this afternoon. I hate to say it, but if they haven't found him by now, they're probably looking for a body. Unless he was abducted by aliens, which I would not rule out.

[Mangetout]

I can't see how having a groovy pair of strides will help in this situation, but fair play to Ranger Zarki for adding a bit of sartorial commentary.

They're coming back into fashion!

[Zulema]

Maybe she was hallucinating. Did they try bloodhounds? Can't they track back to where she started?

That was my first thought. It's incomprehensible to me that they didn't try this or explain why it wouldn't work.
DUH

[aceplace57]

It sure seems like the hounds could track back from where ever she came out of the woods. Mythbusters did a show where they tried to fool the bloodhounds. All the tricks from the movies were tried. Nothing worked (including changing clothes and bathing). Those dogs are amazing.

Bloodhounds do have one weakness. The Mythbusters did throw one off the scent by going into an urban area. All the conflicting smells got the mutt totally confused.

[moejoe]

Did she not have a cell phone with her? If she did, couldn't she have left it with him so they could locate him using the gps in the phone?

If she didn't, well, why not?

[Cat Fight]

Maybe she was hallucinating.

My first thought, especially if she drew the thing before getting food/sleep.

Sounds fishy to me. She leaves him out there in that state, miraculously finds her car and has some wild story.

My second thought. Though there was probably an easier way to off a 92-year-old, one swift 'accident' instead of an elaborate story and diagram.

[The Hamster King]

What I don't understand is why the news reports aren't including some obvious information that could help:


Where did she emerge from the woods? A trailhead, a road, a farmhouse?
How many hours elapsed between when she left her father and when she found her way out?

That information alone would really narrow down the search area and maybe help jog peoples' memories of the structure.

[descamisado]

I can't tell from the drawing if the structure goes down into the ground, but this story sounds like she's trying to set up a lead to where he is but away from something she's done to him.

[IaMoDiNaRy]

<snip>... 65,000-acre Allegany State Park is known for its primitive, forested valleys, un-glaciated landscape, fall leaves, and wildlife. <snip>

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/southern-tier/article256703.ece

<snip> ...... Searchers have walked through 4,000 of the park's 66,000 acres and have not come up with any sign of the Rev. Thomas B. Hamilton. <snip>


I agree with an earlier comment. Why on earth didn't they provide more information to the public? Like what area in all of the 65,000/66,000 acres!!! Doesn't the daughter know where they went into the woods? What's wrong with her? At 92 years old, they couldn't have hiked too far, right? I wish I hadn't read this. It's so sad....

[aceplace57]

This story makes less and less sense. How far could a 92 year old walk? On a casual hike I doubt he would have gotten more than a half mile into the park. He shouldn't be very far from their car.

It's Not looking good right now.

[Hello Again]

This story makes less and less sense. How far could a 92 year old walk? On a casual hike I doubt he would have gotten more than a half mile into the park. He shouldn't be very far from their car.

It's Not looking good right now.
My 92 year old grandmother goes to yoga twice a week, on the NYC subway, by herself. She wouldn't have a problem with a hike or several miles, as long as it was reasonably level.

[A Monkey With a Gun]

How far could a 92 year old walk? On a casual hike I doubt he would have gotten more than a half mile into the park. Don't underestimate some of the elderly.

90-Year-Old-Hiker Takes 60-Foot Fall......and can't wait to get back out there (http://www.backpacker.com/90_year_old_hiker_fall/blogs/daily_dirt/1050). Columbia Gorge (the park in my linked article) ain't exactly flat.

[PlainJain]

What I don't understand is why the news reports aren't including some obvious information that could help:


Where did she emerge from the woods? A trailhead, a road, a farmhouse?
How many hours elapsed between when she left her father and when she found her way out?

That information alone would really narrow down the search area and maybe help jog peoples' memories of the structure.
This was my first thought as well. If she could remember the details of that structure she should be able to remember where she came out and how long she hiked after she left him. It's starting to sound really fishy to me.

http://www.wben.com/One-Week-Later--No-Sign-of-Missing-Hiker/8598089

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Yeah, I'm kinda wondering if Pop might be sleepin' with the fishes or something as opposed to lost in the woods. Maybe there's a will, and she's tired of waiting.

[PlainJain]

Maybe there's a will, and she's tired of waiting.
I didn't want to say it but yeah...

[Barkis is Willin']

The search is being scaled back now.

Link (http://online.wsj.com/article/APba9d9c3fb7cc47fb9298ebc5712eee6a.html)

Authorities tell The Buffalo News that as of Friday, searches in Allegany State Park for the Rev. Thomas Hamilton of Great Valley will be conducted when new information is received concerning his possible whereabouts.

What does that mean and how do they reckon they'll gather this "new information?" If foul play is involved, this seams a very odd way to go about it, considering he's 92.

[Emily Litella]

I'm sure the police are asking if they normally go hiking a lot and if they normally go to this park. I wonder if anyone else saw them hiking there that day. I'm wondering if they're going to find the receipt for a new pair of hiking boots for Dad.

On the other hand, in regard to old folks going hiking, I belong to the NYNJTC (http://www.nynjtc.org/) and at one of their annual meetings I was on a hike that was mostly old people; the oldest was 89 and he was in better shape that I was. I heard a story about one of their friends who was in a nursing home, he cut a hole in the chain link fence out back and led some of his fellow "inmates" on hikes through the woods back there.

"New information" could be any tips they receive from anyone else who knows the park or thinks they saw them that day. Doesn't look good.

[even sven]

My second thought. Though there was probably an easier way to off a 92-year-old, one swift 'accident' instead of an elaborate story and diagram.

Like waiting a few years? Really, how impatient would you have to be?

[Harmonious Discord]

Some children be they old are still idiots. My family was walking a trail when we met a nursing home patient shuffling along behind his old son about 1.5 miles down a trail in North Kettle Moraine state park Wisconsin. The dad was wearing nursing home slippers and complaining about his feet in as much as a nursing home patient can. He had slippers with only a cloth bottom on large rocks up and down hills in the full sun on this trail. His dad may have liked doing this years ago, but he and the nursing home should have realized this would endanger his health and life.

I find it hard to believe how the area to be searched needs to include the whole park. How far can this lady have hiked, and why don't they say the entrance and exit points of her?

[TruCelt]

Some children be they old are still idiots. My family was walking a trail when we met a nursing home patient shuffling along behind his old son about 1.5 miles down a trail in North Kettle Moraine state park Wisconsin. The dad was wearing nursing home slippers and complaining about his feet in as much as a nursing home patient can. He had slippers with only a cloth bottom on large rocks up and down hills in the full sun on this trail. His dad may have liked doing this years ago, but he and the nursing home should have realized this would endanger his health and life.

I find it hard to believe how the area to be searched needs to include the whole park. How far can this lady have hiked, and why don't they say the entrance and exit points of her?

That does not sound innocent from here. Did it really appear innocent in person?

[ratatoskK]

Maybe they're waiting for someone to make a confession.

[Ferret Herder]

Like waiting a few years? Really, how impatient would you have to be?
If the daughter has pressing financial trouble, she might be in a hurry. Alternately, they might be long-lived - my paternal grandfather lived a few years past 100 and was pretty darned healthy until about 100. He even went bicycle-riding with us grandkids in his late 80s, and would walk or bike into town for lunch too. Of course, he didn't go off-road and people knew his routines, so if he fell ill along the way he'd be found by a passerby pretty quickly.

[RandomLetters]

Like waiting a few years? Really, how impatient would you have to be?

Right now there is no federal estate tax. Barring a last minute legislative change, there will be a 55% tax, after the first million dollars (ie, $2 million dollar estate pays 55% on $1 million, or $550k in taxes) starting on the first of next year. http://www.statefarm.com/insurance/life_annuity/estate_plan/taxgone.asp

So if the old guy had a large amount of money, being impatient would be quite profitable.

[Harmonious Discord]

That does not sound innocent from here. Did it really appear innocent in person?

Yes it did.

[DrDeth]

So if the old guy had a large amount of money, being impatient would be quite profitable.

Breif research shows he had little assets, certainly not in the millions.

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Possibly some closure? (http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/Jac-remains-147884245.html)

[TruCelt]

http://www.salamancapress.com/news/article_9f04362a-88ef-11e1-b926-0019bb2963f4.html

The remains were found near the area Rev. Hamilton, who was 92 at the time, went hiking on Nov. 10, 2010 with his 66-year-old daughter, Rebecca Huffman, of Dayton, Ohio. The pair had reportedly spent the night in the park after wandering off the cross country ski trail near the Red House Area and became disoriented in the dark.

Poor lady. Looks like she really did her best to lead searchers back to him.

[Saint Cad]

Maybe a macabre question but now that they found the body, did they identify the stone structure the daughter drew?

[grude]

Maybe a macabre question but now that they found the body, did they identify the stone structure the daughter drew?

If they were bushwhacking it could be nearly anything, I remember hiking off trail through woods and even in presumably patrolled national and state parks you'd find all kinds of strange stuff(bathtubs, gutted cars in the middle of a mature forest?:confused: what seemed like a laid concrete foundation:confused:).

[brewha]

A 20' long 3' high blue concrete structure? Surely they had to have seen it. I've perused the google map of the area, but resolution isn't that great.

http://g.co/maps/rc8bq

If they published exactly where his body was found, it might narrow things down a bit.

[brewha]

I read another story - it says "near the summit area of the Art Roscoe trail system"

That's here:

http://g.co/maps/rjnzv

I dont' think the resolution in this area is good enough to pic up something that small, though.

[PlainJain]

Confirmed. (http://origin.wgrz.com/news/article/165859/1/Possible-Human-Remains-Found-In-Allegany-State-Park) Sad story, sad ending.

[DrDeth]

Great update, thx.

sad, tho. :(

[TruCelt]

Such a sad story. I can't help wondering though if it was purposeful. Has anybody mentioned the "Sturcture and whether it was found close by? This just feels to me ike an assisted suicide.