A: Yeah, we had gone for a weekend away. We went on a hike in the morning and somehow got separated. I was walking next to him one minute, the next I turned around and he was gone. [starts to cry] I don’t know what happened…he just…vanished. 

Athena dissolved into sobs, and Matais could’t quite decide if he believed the tears.

M: And why didn’t you report him missing to the rangers, ma’am? They would have started the search while you were still there.

A: [hiccups] I th-thought he would come back. Call me a fool, but I just hoped if he had gotten lost he would find his way back to the cabin eventually.

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