Heartwood

Lieutenant Bev Miller believes that “any woodsman who says he’s never been lost in the woods is a liar” (3). She has been conducting search-and-rescue operations for several decades and feels that she has a solid grasp on the factors that lead to individuals becoming lost in the woods, as well as the kinds of behaviors that lost hikers tend to exhibit. She is stationed on the section of the Appalachian Trail that runs through Maine, its most difficult leg. Hikers are supposed to put 200 paces between the trail and themselves to urinate, which she cites as one possible explanation as to how the newest lost hiker, Valerie Gillis, ended up missing.

Valerie was last seen on Monday, July 25. She spent the previous night in the Poplar Ridge shelter with at least two other hikers and was set to be picked up by her husband the following day. Another hiker reported seeing a “middle-aged” woman at Spaulding Mountain shelter the next morning, and Bev thinks that he might have seen Valerie. There are eight miles between Poplar Ridge shelter and Spaulding Mountain shelter, but the wilderness on either side of the trail is vast. She gets out an old map of the Appalachian Trail and contemplates where Valerie might be.

Maine game wardens have begun a search for a missing hiker: Valerie Gillis, a 42-year-old female who might be known to fellow thru-hikers by her trail name, “Sparrow.” Authorities are particularly interested in speaking to hikers Strider, Another Lisa, Leviticus, Blister, and Santo.

Valerie writes in a letter to her mother that hiking the Appalachian Trail is a “wet” experience. Rain, sweat, and tears are frequent. It is a difficult task that her mother actively discouraged her from undertaking. Still, each time she wanted to quit, she had a magical night with her “tramily”—people like Santo, whose presence heartened her. Hinting that something bad has happened, she says that “even now,” she stands by her decision to undertake the hike.

Santo tells Warden Cody Ouellette that hiking is hard when one is “fat” but brings with it a sense of satisfaction that many thinner hikers seem not to find. He adds that he does not mind being called “fat” and is proud to meet other “fat” hikers, who form their own tribe. Sparrow was a slow hiker, like Santo himself, and she was special, as she had a “poet soul.” He asks if someone hurt her.

Valerie notes that she is writing letters to her mother partly so that her mother will have a record of her experiences but also to help herself maintain her presence of mind during her ordeal.

The state mobile command unit has arrived on the scene and is stationed at the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel. Rob Cross, Bev’s second-in-command, will run the ground operations, but Bev supervises. She might get the credit if the search goes well, but she will also take the blame if it does not. Rob is a local, but Bev grew up in Massachusetts—a state that many Mainers view with suspicion and resentment.

The search team is staffed largely by volunteers, and everyone knows that although the ranger unit has an excellent record of finding lost hikers, it is statistically improbable that hikers will be found if they’re lost for more than 24 hours. Bev’s former colleague Mike is on site, but he is a retiree and is just there to lend moral support. Valerie’s husband, Gregory Bouras, is also present. He’s been driving alongside Valerie as she hikes, meeting her at various checkpoints to drop off supplies. His behavior strikes many of Bev’s coworkers as odd, but Bev knows that distraught family members often act in strange ways. Gregory has provided them with information about Valerie’s supplies, the gear she was carrying, and her route. However, he is hostile to law enforcement and tells multiple officers that he supports defunding the police. He also becomes agitated when they ask for his whereabouts when Valerie went missing, insisting that he was in his hotel room and questioning why they would assume otherwise. As Bev talks with her team, she receives notification that the report of Valerie being near Spaulding Mountain was mistaken, meaning that they have been searching the wrong area.

Santo, whose given name is Ruben, notes that even “big dudes” are sensitive. He often finds other people’s reactions to him hurtful. As a Bronx-born son of Dominican immigrants, he knows that he’s not a typical hiker. He can tell this by the way people respond to him on the trail, and he does his best to appear non-threatening. He made friends with a group of hikers early during his trip but struck off alone when they tried to give him a trail name; each suggestion included the adjectives “Black” or “Dark.” That’s when he chose Santo, which means “saint” or “holy,” as his trail name; it was a nickname that his grandmother gave to him, but it also reflects his attitude toward life and the human experience.

Sonia is a psychic who offers her services to law enforcement in missing-persons cases. She believes that Valerie is dead and that the husband is responsible, but she needs a map to ascertain the location of the body.

Bev notes that the vast, difficult-to-navigate forests in Maine can only be appreciated firsthand. They are difficult to search, as search parties cannot move in long lines of people or be divided into grids, with each section covered by a different searcher. Thus, the initial search for Valerie does not turn up any clues.

Bev observes that many people go into search and rescue because of an early experience with loss. Rob, for instance, lost an infant sibling. Bev did not lose anyone to the wilderness, but her father did die when she was young. She had a difficult childhood: Tall for her age even before puberty, she was always bullied and has always been solitary. She adored the book My Side of the Mountain and did her best to hone her wilderness skills. After a moment spent thinking about the past, Bev returns to the search.

Santo explains that he and Sparrow hiked through most of Pennsylvania together, which was where the two became close. He struggles to find affordable gear, especially in his size, and his boots began to fall apart in Pennsylvania. Sparrow was a “sweet” hiking companion, and the two shared all their secrets. They sang together and cheered each other on throughout the roughest patches. When asked about Gregory, Santo becomes nervous and asks if the law enforcement officers record everything he says.

Valerie composes a letter to her mother in which she remembers how much she hated going to bed as a young girl. She also shares that she is struggling to build a fire, that the lack of food is starting to impact her, and that she feels hopeless. She is fearful that “he” will find her, but she is also fearful that no one else will be able to find her.

Lena Kucharski is a voracious reader and has been since a young age. She always excelled in every subject, which, as her father predicted, made her life interesting but not necessarily happy. She has always been a loner. Even now that she lives in a retirement community, she spends the bulk of her time alone. She has one friend, however: Warren, a fellow resident who harbors a crush on her. Lena is an avid forager but is also in a wheelchair, and he helps her harvest edible and medicinal plants on the community’s grounds. Her other “friend” is a man she only knows from a Reddit foraging board. His screen name is “TerribleSilence,” and they communicate daily about their foraging. He lives hundreds of miles away, in Maine. Today, she learns from him that there is a missing hiker in the area: a 42-year-old female nurse. Lena panics and is terrified that it is her estranged daughter. She enlists Warren’s help to find out more about the case.

Word has spread quickly about Valerie’s disappearance, and volunteers pour in to help with the search. Bev is happy to see Cody and Tanya, two of her officers. They are hard workers, and she is about to send Cody to interview Ruben Serrano (i.e., Santo), Valerie’s hiking partner, at his home in New York. The two hiked much of the trail together until Ruben quit. He is apparently distraught and wants to help the search.

There is a media presence today, and one of the reporters asks Bev about Valerie’s anxiety medication, suggesting that she might be experiencing suicidal ideation. Bev dismisses this idea, noting that anxiety medication is common and that there is no evidence to suggest that Valerie was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Later, Tanya says that Gregory revealed in an interview that Valerie had recently informed him that she no longer loved him. He had started crying, and although Tanya was sure that he was about to confess to having harmed Valerie, he instead revealed that she wanted to end their marriage. The team now has dogs and helicopters, but neither they nor the searchers turn up any clues.

Valerie’s parents, Wayne and Janet Gillis, arrive. The resemblance between Janet and Valerie is striking. Janet, in particular, is emotional about her daughter’s disappearance, and although Bev knows that it is unwise to make promises in these kinds of cases, she vows to Janet that they will find Valerie.