Missing hiker found after 2 weeks

[Bad Dingo]

Oct 22, 2020 8:05:38 GMT -5 theoriginalbean said:

It very well could be a scam and I agree that it sounds a little fishy with the added details from the sheriff, but (anecdote alert) we often day hike with hammocks (because comfy lunch spot) and always, always carry a filtration system that would have worked on the toxins in that water source. You never know what could happen when you're out there. So those two things would not be scam flags, for me.

I'm not sure what article it was but they listed everything that she was carrying to help in identification and there was a large multi-day backpack.  I'll see if I can find it...

ETA: That's a pretty big bag to be taking on a 3 hour hike.

[krystee]

While I tend to think it is a scam (I don’t think they’d share suspicions of that without decent proof), it wouldn’t be 100% suspicious to me based on gear. My husband is training for a 250-mile hike next summer, and he hikes with full gear to get used to it, even when he is not spending the night.

[InBetweenDays]

I was going to say the gear alone wouldn't make me suspicious. I brought a big pack on day hikes this summer. For one because I was training for a bigger backpack trip and for two @@@because it was usually just me and one of my kids and I brought the "10 essentials" plus extras (sleeping bag, water filtration, etc) just in case.

[af1212]

I don’t think the gear by itself is strange for a hiker, but I do think it’s strange for someone who was dropped off at 1:30 and was going to be picked up at 4:30.

[af1212]

Who are these “online observers hypothesizing about the case” 🤪😲

www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/10/28/holly-courtier-rescue-zion-national-park-led-online-rumors-theories/6055999002/

[downtoearth]

Oct 22, 2020 10:28:57 GMT -5 af1212 said:

I don’t think the gear by itself is strange for a hiker, but I do think it’s strange for someone who was dropped off at 1:30 and was going to be picked up at 4:30.

IMO she obviously did not intend to meet that timeline, but probably had to pick a time since you need permits to stay overnight and such... so I bet she thought she'd take a night or two and then head back and didn't want to get a permit.

I just don't find any of this too suspicious, and definitely not nefarious, as more than that she had lost her job, was feeling unmoored and wanted some time away, but knew about the permitting and sites and such and wanted to avoid that part. Plus she really was wounded and hurt, starving and dehydrated, so it's not like she wanted to feel that way. She's just quirky and a hiker. 

[basilosaurus]

I read somewhere, although I don't remember where now, that rangers were saying there was an algae bloom in her supposed water source, so she'd either be really sick or dead if she lived off it for that long. Also, they have a GFM. Why in the world would someone who's been rescued and is healthy need a GFM? My bullshit meter is going off.

[downtoearth]

Oct 29, 2020 9:40:47 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I read somewhere, although I don't remember where now, that rangers were saying there was an algae bloom in her supposed water source, so she'd either be really sick or dead if she lived off it for that long. Also, they have a GFM. Why in the world would someone who's been rescued and is healthy need a GFM? My bullshit meter is going off.

The local sheriff was the one who said that - I wouldn't take toxicology info or the word of the local sheriff as expert testimony on anything environmental or toxicological. I'm not saying that she wasn't ill from the water or that maybe she did hike around and had another source, but that's not an investigation team, just hearsay from a doubting sheriff who technically doesn't have the jurisdiction and was extra help for the NPS. Plus the Sheriff spoke openly to the local ABC tv station with his opinion in a very unprofessional manner... and it sounds like he wasn't on the scene when she was walked out. He should have talked to NPS instead of the TV and included his insights info in the actual investigation. 

[Deleted]

Oct 29, 2020 9:40:47 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I read somewhere, although I don't remember where now, that rangers were saying there was an algae bloom in her supposed water source, so she'd either be really sick or dead if she lived off it for that long. Also, they have a GFM. Why in the world would someone who's been rescued and is healthy need a GFM? My bullshit meter is going off.

They set up the GFM to pay for hotel rooms and such for people who were helping with the search. And now they're using it to pay for her treatment now that she's been found. Here's what their description says:


• Funds will be used to reimburse the family and friend's costs in searching for Holly. (Such as; hotels rooms, equipment purchased to look for Holly, car rentals, and food for search parties. • A separate bank account will be opened up to reimburse these individuals. • A remainder of the donations will be used to cover the medical care applied to Holly during her hospital stay as well as therapy costs moving forward.


I think there's something off here but I don't know what the intention would have been.