The Way to Saint James Story

I follow a lot of stories here in Europe.  This morning.....there's this odd piece on an American (Denise Thiem) who quit her job and started a worldly trek.  At some point in April, Denise (age 41) arrived in Spain and started the centuries old Catholic pilgrimage which is known as Camino de Santiago (in English, it's the Way of Saint James).

On the 5th of April.....she disappeared.  Nothing has been seen of her for roughly three months now.  All that the authorities will say is that she got up that morning.....had breakfast with an Italian guy she'd met the previous day who was also doing the pilgrimage.....then went to mass....and the two separated to walk either toward or away from the intended destination (Camino de Santiago).  Her family is involved in the search, but basically have come to no facts other than what happened that morning.

Her family is concerned......no contact.....assuming the worst.

There's nothing else to the story.  No purse.  No ID found.  No use of credit cards.

I have read a fair amount over the past couple of years of the Way of Saint James and watched a couple of documentary pieces on it.  I would even admit that I have some desire to make the trek myself....but I tend to recognize it's a 155 miles and in the Spanish countryside.....it's a fairly hot trek.  You can figure there will be at least eight days of walking.  The Spaniards have put up various bed-and-breakfast operations and provide water-points along the trek.  A minimum of 200,000 people make the Way of Saint James each year.

If you do the math, that means that a minimum of 15,000 people a month are walking on this ten-day trip.  Most would prefer to do it April-May or September-October.....lessening the heat affect.  So on any average day, along this 155 mile route.....there might be a group of dozen folks within a mile of each other.

People disappearing on the Way of Saint James?  It's not something that occurs.  It's a marked trail and heavily walked on daily basis on each section by literally hundreds of people.

Strangely enough.....after this missing woman episode got into public forums.....folks started to bring up various suspicious episodes.  Women trekking alone were groped or accosted by men (not trekkers but apparently local guys).  Some suggestions have come out that walking alone, which was the typical plan of most people, is not smart and simply opens the possibility of some groping or assault.  They tend to recommend people walk in some type of group.

Oddly, no one ever camps out in the middle of a trail.  Most everyone comes to the end of day X and stays at some small town bed-and-breakfast deal.

As for this lost woman?  It would be awful unusual for someone to get kidnapped along the Way to Saint James.  I could see some guy....getting bold enough....and doing something this stupid.  But there's also the fact that American gal had quit her job and gone on a worldly trek without any real plan or end-point in sight.  That fact bothers me.  She was looking for something to change her life. Maybe she found it and just walked off to do something else and decided not to discuss the matter any further.  You just don't know.