In the area of the Appalachian Trail in Maine where this occurred, what would happen if you picked a compass bearing, any random bearing, and followed it? ...... I'm not saying following a random bearing is the best course of action. ...... But if your plan is to hike out, you should probably follow a natural feature (river, etc.) or lacking that, a steady compass bearing. I'm just wondering how wilderness-y is the wilderness in that area. 5 miles? 20 miles? 50 miles?
In most cases, a better idea would be to follow a compass bearing that would take you back across the trail. Provided of course that you remember which side of the trail you stepped off of into the woods. Trails are linear features, and I assume a major trail like the Appalachian would be reasonably prominent on the ground. So for example if the trail trends generally N-S, and you stepped off to the east side to pee, a West bearing should have you cross the trail again at some point.
I am perplexed. In none of the articles I have seen is there any mention of an aerial component of the search. Does anyone know if there were wings in the air?
The article Doug linked seemed to indicate that this part of the trail is in very thick woodsy terrain. Even in relatively open terrain, the "POD" (Probability of Detection) of a single person on the ground from aircraft search is suprisingly low. In thick woods, unless she was able to get into a clearing, or make a smoky fire, she might have been next to impossible to spot from the air.
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