I have not felt compelled to comment on this subject till now. A young Vibrant friendly woman made a mistake and she shouldn't have had to pay for that mistake with her life. It has hit way too close to home for all of us and I know we all have nothing but compassion for her and her family.

quote:

I saw a quote on the AJC website yesterday from a woman who was going hiking with her dog but otherwise alone who said something to the effect that she wasn't going to let some creep keep her from doing the things she loved to do.

Having said that here is my 2 cents on this quote. She is exactly right. I Will not allow fear keep me from doing what I love to do.

Will I go out alone caching? yes.

Will I go up to the mountains alone? maybe. Not because I am afraid of someone killing me, but because of my health issues, documented accident proneness and plenty of caching buddies. If not for those reasons if the opportunity arose and I had the inclination to go, I probably would.

I am always aware of my surroundings and those around me. I follow my instincts, if it doesn't feel right - it isn't right and I get the heck out of there. There is always going to be people out there with evil intentions. I just refuse for them to "by proxy" take my life away.

I am in no way minimizing what happened. This has been horrible and tragic. No one should ever have to go through this. I am praying for her and her family.

quote:

as Allen put, or on the sofa at home

The point of that quote is yes there is risk in going into the woods, but staying home to avoid risk doesn't work, it just changes the risks.

Life is short and fragile; make the most of it.

For me, that means geocaching will be part of it.

I heard a very good sermon delivered by a woman priest this past Sunday on this very subject...that we should not avoid things or give them up out of fear...she even took it to the national level that if we continue to give up our own liberties and freedoms out of fear of terrorism, then the terrorists have won. Just food for thought...

quote:

Originally posted by Slayerette:
I have not felt compelled to comment on this subject till now. A young Vibrant friendly woman made a mistake and she shouldn't have had to pay for that mistake with her life. It has hit way too close to home for all of us and I know we all have nothing but compassion for her and her family.

Slay, what mistake did Meredith make?

P

quote:

Slay, what mistake did Meredith make?

Not that I made the original statement, but Meredith unfortunately trusted a complete stranger in a remote area. Is this her FAULT? NO! Is she to be BLAMED for her decision? NO! She simply had an err in judgement that lead to personal disaster for herself. But, the perpetrator is completely at FAULT here.

As the mother of a daughter in the "young, female, trusting, friendly, pretty category" it completely horrifies me that there are people out there that will prey on those characteristics (or others, such as aged, trusting, friendly, etc., etc....)for the price of a few hundred bucks from an ATM machine.

I know this sounds cold and unreasonable, but if I had been one of the officers present at Dawson Forest when the "suspect" led them to Meredith's body, I would have been happy enough to have found a final resting place for him on the spot. I know our "justice" system does not work that way, but isn't it too bad that it doesn't at times like this.......

Do I sound emotional? I'm sure I do........

I'm sad this has happened to anyone. I'm extra sad this has happened to someones child.

quote:

Slay, what mistake did Meredith make?

I am in no way blaming Meredith. It was never my intention to even hint at that. If I gave that impression I am truly sorry. She was a victim and was no way at fault.

quote:

Not that I made the original statement, but Meredith unfortunately trusted a complete stranger in a remote area. Is this her FAULT? NO! Is she to be BLAMED for her decision? NO! She simply had an err in judgement that lead to personal disaster for herself. But, the perpetrator is completely at FAULT here.

Thank You Geomuse for answering pedal, you explained my intentions exactly.

quote:

Thank You Geomuse for answering pedal, you explained my intentions exactly.

Thought so sista!

quote:

Originally posted by geomuse:
I know this sounds cold and unreasonable, but if I had been one of the officers present at Dawson Forest when the "suspect" led them to Meredith's body, I would have been happy enough to have found a final resting place for him on the spot. I know our "justice" system does not work that way, but isn't it too bad that it doesn't at times like this.......

Three of my favorite geoladies in this discussion.....but Geomuse I still remember John Paul Knowles which Wikipedia reports his fate as follows:

"After this rejection, Knowles went on a murderous spree across northern Florida. He was eventually caught in Georgia. While claiming to assist the arresting officers in finding the officer's pistol he had used in his last two murders, he tried to escape and was shot dead."

His demise happened near here....reported as trying to escape...but shot dead in the back of a police car while shackled and handcuffed....no one complained.

Too bad nobody thought of that tactic in this case.....

A few random thoughts cross my mind after a couple of days to reflect.

You're a heck of a lot more likely to get killed in a car accident driving TO the woods than get attacked while hiking.

This wont change how often I go in the woods, at all. If anything I'm stubborn enough it might make me go more just to make a point.

Much like 9/11 doesn't prevent me from flying, this wont prevent me from hiking. But, also much like 9/11, it adds thoughts about things I could've never envisioned happening and changes what you assess as a threat.

Meredith actually did everything by the book. She had the dog with her, she knew how to take care of herself. She let people know where she was going and when she should be back. The one thing she MIGHT have done wrong, only she would know. And that is if her "creep vibe" went off, she must've ignored it. Never do that, trust your instincts and what your brain is telling you.

I would not criticize any female going out today under the same scenario.

The only thing I'd really suggest to anyone caching that should be done if you're not doing it already is simply to let someone know where you are going and when you'll be back. Check in when you leave and when you get back. And that not lets someone know immediately if you've encountered a serial killer, but also gets you help faster in the much more likely scenario of a broken leg, sprained ankle, twisted knee or other physical ailment.

quote:

Originally posted by geomuse:
I know our "justice" system does not work that way, but isn't it too bad that it doesn't at times like this.......

It does not work that way ... or any other way. That's not just my humble opinion - there is plenty of evidence to support the statement.

I thought I'd point out to everyone two articles that appeared in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. You may have to register with the AJC website, if you aren't already, but registration is free. The articles may not be freely accessible after seven days, however.

The first article is entitled "Tragedy reminds hikers of risks". It focuses on the risks to women out by themselves. It points out that on the trail you are more at risk from weather, wild animal and poor planning than you are from other hikers. I'd add physical injury to that list, but otherwise I think it is right.

The other article is a faith and values column entitled "Meredith did nothing wrong that terrible day." As a faith and values column it is explicitly religious in nature so be prepared for that. While it takes the strong position that she made no mistake, I don't think the author would disagree with what Slayerette and Geomuse said. Any difference is, IMHO, only semantics.

The trust is that since we don't know what happened between them, we really don't know if she was too trusting or ignored her "creep vibe." She may not have been able to get away from him.

quote:

Originally posted by Ga Mountaineer:
...The other article is a faith and values column entitled "Meredith did nothing wrong that terrible day."

Amen to this article/column.

quote:

Originally posted by Slayerette:

quote:

Slay, what mistake did Meredith make?

I am in no way blaming Meredith. It was never my intention to even hint at that. If I gave that impression I am truly sorry. She was a victim and was no way at fault.

quote:

Not that I made the original statement, but Meredith unfortunately trusted a complete stranger in a remote area. Is this her FAULT? NO! Is she to be BLAMED for her decision? NO! She simply had an err in judgement that lead to personal disaster for herself. But, the perpetrator is completely at FAULT here.

Thank You Geomuse for answering pedal, you explained my intentions exactly.

Slay, Thank you for responding and clarifying your statement. I didn't think you thought that, but wanted to ask you for clarification. Thanks again, and sorry if I misunderstood your statement.

Geomuse, We don't know if she trusted him or not. She MIGHT have let her guard down and felt somewhat comfortable around him, or she MIGHT have had reservations and kept her distance from him. We will never know the answer to that and I don't think we can say she had an err in judgement. We'll never know and can only speculate.
As I said in an earlier post, the element of surprise is a weapon that we really can't defend ourselves against.

P

Walk In Memory of Meredith
Sunday January 20 10 AM. At Neel's Gap.
From Winton at Mountain Crossings:

"Please join our community in honor of the spirit of Meredith Emerson and the spirit of the trail.
DUE TO THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO THIS HIKE, WE HAVE BEEN ASKED TO HOLD A CERMONIAL WALK "DOWN HILL" TOWARDS BYRON HERBERT REECE PARKING LOT. WHERE A NATIVE AMERICAN SMUDGING CEREMONY WILL BE HELD

Here is the link for more info:
Mountain Crossings M.E. Memorial Walk


P

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pedal,

Here is the link to donate to the memorial fund at the Longmont Humane Society in honor of Meredith.
Meredith fund

P