Missing woman search in Shenandoah

[Anonymous]

Anyone else following this story?
http://wtop.com/virginia/2016/04/search-widens-for-missing-woodbridge-woman-in-shenandoah-national-park/slide/1/
Sounds like they she did went there on her own. Wonder if she's an experienced hiker.

[Anonymous]

Seems to me like she doesn't want to be found.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Sorry for the word jumble. Hasty pasting..

[Anonymous]

That's a bizarre story. I hope she's OK. She could have easily gone there on her own not intending to be missing. Hoping this has a happy ending and that it is the result of a misunderstanding rather than foul play or a tragic accident.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if this is related, or coincidence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/04/19/shenandoah-wildfire-grows-to-3000-acres-shuts-down-12-trails-and-skyline-drive/

[Anonymous]

Started seeing it on Facebook a couple days ago. I hope she is found alive and well

[Anonymous]

Not looking good for her. Her vehicle was found in a remote area of the park and she was a tri-athlete. She's been missing for days. It doesn't sound like she was trying to disappear.

[Anonymous]

I'm not familiar with the park, but apparently her car and the fire are quite far apart. They are probably unrelated, but she hasn't been found yet. It's possible the fire and her disappearance could be connected.

[Anonymous]

I don't want to speculate too much due to the sensitive nature of this incident. But these scenarios often play out one of two ways, and neither are good. I am praying for her.

[Anonymous]

Hikers go missing in the woods regularly, because it's REALLY easy to get lost in dense forests, particularly if you leave the trail. You think you can get back on it quickly, after taking a pee or whatever, you go in that direction, and you can't find it again.
It's dangerous to go hiking alone, and as an experienced hiker, she must have known this.

There are also hypothermia risks, and occasionally bear attacks, viruses, and crazy killers.

[Anonymous]

Perfect that the husband asks the media to broadcast her face, but there's not a single photo of her in the article.

Does anyone know if the entry stations @ SNP have cameras? It'd be good to know if she was the one who drove her car there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Hikers go missing in the woods regularly, because it's REALLY easy to get lost in dense forests, particularly if you leave the trail. You think you can get back on it quickly, after taking a pee or whatever, you go in that direction, and you can't find it again.
It's dangerous to go hiking alone, and as an experienced hiker, she must have known this.

There are also hypothermia risks, and occasionally bear attacks, viruses, and crazy killers.

Agree with you in general, but in SNP, it's not easy to get lost. The park is narrow and the road is at the top of the mountain. I'm surprised searchers haven't found her yet. I'm guessing this is foul play or a slight chance she wanted to disappear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Hikers go missing in the woods regularly, because it's REALLY easy to get lost in dense forests, particularly if you leave the trail. You think you can get back on it quickly, after taking a pee or whatever, you go in that direction, and you can't find it again.
It's dangerous to go hiking alone, and as an experienced hiker, she must have known this.

There are also hypothermia risks, and occasionally bear attacks, viruses, and crazy killers.

I agree with you in general, but will just point out that you are seriously conflating risks here. Injury, hypothermia, disorientation = serious risks, especially for a solo hiker at this time of year. Bear attacks, viruses, crazy killers - not something I am going to worry about. You're gonna have to do something incredibly stupid to get one of those black bears to attack you, viruses that you would get in the woods are unlikely to kill you or really make you sick before you get off trail, and crazy stranger killers *have* happened but are less of a risk in the backcountry then on the streets of DC.

Sure this could be one of those cases, but comparing those risks is like comparing the risks of texting and driving to getting struck by lightning. Totally different categories of risk.

[Anonymous]

Been following this story on social media since it came out. Theres a 32 page thread going on the web sleuths forum about the disappearance. As an avid hiker/runner, the story is disturbing. However, my gut does not have a good feeling about this one...too many holes in the story.

[Anonymous]

Either a predator saw her alone and victimized her, and dumped her car, or the husband did it. And I have nothing against that guy, but statistically, if a married woman is missing or harmed it's usually the husband.