Teenager Tries To Rescue Badly Injured Hiker Before Time Runs Out

It was a sunny August day when Henry and his mother were trekking up Monument Mountain. Once they finally made it to the top, they noticed a group of other hikers who were already there, taking in the scenery. There was one woman dressed in pink, Henry remembered, who was standing near the rocky edge. It was a peaceful moment — but wouldn't last long.

One of the gems of the Berkshire region, Monument Mountain's Squaw Peak wasn't exactly easy to get to. Standing 1,642 feet above sea level, it was high enough to show off the mountains and valleys in the distance. But it also was high enough to cause great injury if a wrong step was taken.

The calm was broken by a startled cry. Henry whipped around as he heard a series of thumps — it sounded like something going down the mountainside. A man in his 60s stood near the precipice, and with fear in his eyes, he shouted, "Paula! Paula!"

With the hiker in the bright pink outfit nowhere to be seen, Henry put two and two together. He knew then that what he heard was her tumbling over the side of Squaw Peak. "I hate to say this, but they’re probably going to find a body," the teenager told his mom.

Henry tried to look over the edge, desperately hoping to catch sight of the woman, but treetops hid the ground below. Getting too close to the edge of Squaw Peak had caught Paula off guard, and Henry didn't want to make the same mistake.

There was little that Henry and his mother could do. They turned to leave, hoping that the fellow hikers could do something more. But on their way down, Henry continued seeing people searching for where Paula might have fallen. He changed his mind then.

At 18-years old, Henry had spent most of that August day looking forward to beginning his freshman year at Ithaca College. But it was no longer on his mind as he watched a small search party find no sign of Paula's whereabouts. Henry decided to help in any way he could. It would be risky, though.

After assuring sure his mother that he would be safe, Henry set off on his own rescue attempt. The terrain was not easy to navigate. There were boulders he needed to climb over. Overgrown brush clawed at him as he passed. Slopes had loose and unsteady dirt. But then something in the near distance caught Henry's eye.

Paula had fallen some 75 feet off of Squaw Peak, so Henry knew his search for her could end badly. That height could very well have killed her. When he noticed a flash of pink, it was above him — over 20 feet high. Her body lay on a rocky outcropping. He called out to see if Paula could hear him. Or if she was alive at all.

Henry called out to Paula many more times and finally — she moved. Somehow, she survived the fall. But the outcropping she had landed upon was small. Henry called 911 and tried to wait for help to arrive. Then he soon realized Paula was not coherent. She was attempting to get down herself, which put her at risk for further injury.

Paula appeared delirious to Henry. Realizing the danger she was in, Henry started to climb up to the outcropping. The ascent followed a very narrow pathway, where he had to force his feet and hands into the dirt for further traction. When he made it up, Henry saw with his own eyes why Paula was acting off.

Not only was Paula unable to speak in complete sentences or make any sense; she was bleeding on nearly every part of her body. With her severe condition, Henry didn't know what more could he do. More importantly, where was the help?

Ten minutes came and went. Then twenty minutes passed by. Henry didn't see any help coming. But with the injured hiker's condition worsening, he felt he had to try to do something. Without any experience dealing with the trauma before him, Henry tested out a simple method to ease Paula's pain.

Planting his weight against a tree for added support, Henry remained on the outcropping and took Paula's hand. Despite Paula acting delirious, he started to ask questions. He asked, "Where are you from? Do you have kids?" Anything to get her mind off the horrible situation she was in. Before long, another hiker soon spotted them.

Within a few minutes, Simon, the other hiker, managed to join them on the outcropping. Just when it seemed like no medical help would show up, it did. After over forty minutes of waiting, Henry saw the emergency responders approach, but there was a problem. They couldn't reach Paula.

The rescue mission was about to become more complicated. The emergency response team secured ropes and rappelled down to the outcropping. Very carefully, they placed Paula onto a stretcher and lifted her up. As they left Henry behind, things weren't going to be easier on top of Squaw Peak for Paula.

Once Paula was brought up, medics carried her over to an ATV vehicle. Finally, she and her husband were flown over to a hospital. Now it was time for Simon and Henry to get assistance. They couldn't easily descend from the outcropping they were now stuck on. Another way was needed.

The emergency response team sent down harnesses to aid in the escape. The two hikers would now have to climb up the same 75 feet that Paula had fallen. Henry had certainly not expected to be rescued himself that day.

After five hours, Henry's mission finally came to an end. He ended up back at the top of Squaw Peak, safe, and reunited with his mother. Soon after, he learned of the extent of the injuries Paula had suffered. It was a complete miracle she hadn't instantly been killed.

Paula's legs and arms were bloody for a good reason. She had a compound fracture in one leg, along with a broken clavicle and ten broken ribs. As for why she couldn't respond coherently, Paula had a bad concussion. Yet, that was all she suffered from her high topple over Squaw Peak. Henry just hoped she could recover.

Fortunately, Paula bounced back in a big way, and she shared her side of the story. Paula who was grieving the recent death of her mother thought a nice hike would set her at ease. After the intense ordeal that followed, Paula was forever grateful for the young man who kept her alive. She likely wouldn't have lasted much longer without him.

Years earlier, a woman about Paula's age vanished while hiking the Appalachian Trail, and nobody knew where to look for her. The 2,200-mile path is marked by rugged terrain and extreme climates, and of the nearly 4,000 experienced hikers that set out on the A.T. each year, only about a quarter hike to completion.

Those odds weren't great, but for Geraldine "Gerry" Largay, they were still odds worth taking. The 66-year-old retired nurse from Tennessee was searching for her next great adventure, and in the spring of 2013, she decided that the Appalachian Trail was just that.

Despite an anxious nature, Gerry resolved to hike the trail without her husband, George, believing this challenge was one she needed to overcome alone. Still, that didn't stop her childhood friend Jane Lee from tagging along in pursuit of her own life-changing adventure.

And so, on April 23, 2013, the two women set off on their first leg of the Appalachian Trail, entering through a trail opening in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Unlike most who tackle the A.T., however, Gerry and Jane decided to go about their hike a little differently.

Instead of thru-hiking the trail with no assistance, Gerry and Jane were met along the way by George, who would resupply them and even take them to a hotel for the evening to shower and rest. After all, these women were in their 60s — the less risk they had to take on the trail, the better.

Yet age wasn't the only factor that made the hike a dangerous endeavor. Gerry had a notoriously poor sense of direction and would often make wrong turns along the trail, making these short stops — as well as Jane's presence — all the more essential.

Despite these precautions, however, Gerry and Jane's adventure came to a grinding halt just two months in. After getting word of a family emergency back home, Jane was forced to abandon their hike just a few miles into New Hampshire.

Before she did, Jane implored her companion to return home with her, believing that Gerry wasn't equipped to handle the remaining stretch of the A.T. But Gerry wouldn't be swayed — she was going to finish what she started.

Over the next few weeks, the 66-year-old steadily made her way through New Hampshire and into Maine, the finish line in sight. She rested briefly on July 22, and a group of fellow hikers snapped this picture of her.

Perhaps seeing this photo would've calmed George's nerves, as two days after it was taken, he received no word from Gerry despite scheduling a call with her to check in. When the 24th came and went without sign of his wife, George knew he had to act.

He contacted the Maine Department of Parks and Recreation, who immediately summoned a search party for what would become the largest manhunt in state history. For 20 days, volunteers combed every inch of Maine wilderness, though by the end, Gerry was still nowhere to be found.

Heartbroken, George and the rest of Largay family had no choice but to assume the worse and held a memorial service for the beloved wife and mother later that year. But had Gerry really perished on the trail? Some investigators weren't so sure.

According to one witness, a woman matching Gerry's description was spotted wandering through a nearby town, though around the same time, another witness claimed to have seen Gerry living in a women's shelter back in Tennessee. Investigators were stumped, though in October 2015, they finally got their answers.

While filming an episode of North Woods Law, an Animal Planet film crew stumbled upon a crumpled yellow tent just a half mile off the Appalachian Trail. They assumed it had been left behind by a hiker who had set up camp off the trail. They were wrong.

Beneath the rotting remains of the tent was a body so decayed that the crew was unsure police would even be able to identify it. Further investigation uncovered a journal tucked beneath the corpse, and inside, they discovered a heartbreaking truth.

The body belonged to Geraldine Largay, who, according to the journal, had wandered off the A.T. shortly after chatting with the hikers on July 22 and was unable to find her way back. With the trail out of sight and her supplies dwindling, she waited for help, which never came.

Most tragic of all, however, was the final note she left behind: "When you find my body please call my husband, George, and my daughter Kerry. It will be the greatest kindness for them to know that I am dead and where you find me – no matter how many years from now."

Incredibly, Gerry had survived 26 days alone in the Maine wilderness and wrote in her journal right up until the very end. And while the search for the missing hiker had ended sometime around August 4, 2013, the journal showed she was still alive as late as August 18.

With this news, George and the Largays were finally able rest easy knowing that Gerry was at peace. Despite losing the love of his life, George says he has no regrets about encouraging Gerry to hike the trail because she died doing what she loved: living life to the fullest.