As far as I know, the case is still unsolved. There was a tiny bit of publicity when it first happened, and within a month, almost nothing. It has been suggested that she was murdered by a client or someone holding a grudge or something because of her practice as a therapist. I never found that "theory" comforting, and while I continue to enjoy the outdoors in many places, I certainly haven't hiked or fished alone in Pinkham Notch since this happened. And I was fishing in the Ellis River by myself just a month earlier.
I'm still concerned that women, especially, are not as cautious as we might be. Our instincts can be telling us that a situation is unsafe, but we too often disregard that intuition. I've done it plenty of times. It's one thing to take a calculated risk in outdoor sports, it's quite another to not pay attention at a trailhead. I'm certainly not syaing that Ms. Chaput did anything like that - I'm saying that we can be careful, that's all. My recollection of the time was that there were NO signs or indications around Pinkham that a murder had taken place recently and the murderer was likely still at large, possibly in the area.
