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74 BACKPACKER 03.2014 Paul says he felt shock. Who are these people who would intentionally hamper our investi- gation? he thought. Who would intentionally stop parents from fnding their daughter? Were the villagers lying? Maybe. Maybe they were afraid. It’s possible they remem- bered an incident from 2000, in which a Brit- ish trekker was found dead in the Langtang River and the fshermen who reported it were imprisoned for a decade. As a woman searching on behalf of the Saccos told CNN, “All the villagers in the Langtang area say that [the fshermen] didn’t do anything, and that the people who did it were never caught.” Back in Kathmandu, the police assured the Saccos that they’d re-interviewed the young men, the cook, and Renzin Dorjee. According to a spokesman for the Nepali Army, each soldier at Ghora Tabela was questioned multiple times (including those on leave during Aubrey’s disappearance), and troops searched the area three times between 2010 and 2012. But in the chaos that has defned Nepal’s political situation for years, the Saccos kept learning that their contacts had been fred, jailed, or promoted. Plus, in a devel- oping country like Nepal, police investigations are chronically underfunded. Te Saccos might have given up. Other families had abandoned their searches when confronted with the same roadblocks. Rachel Crowter, whose brother Julien Wynne disappeared in the Everest region in 2008, says her family searched for a year before stop- ping. “I do not see what else we can do,” Crowter says. “Te whole Nepali government and system are corrupt. Tere is no one to investigate. It leaves our family feeling totally frustrated and helpless.” But at home in Colorado, the Saccos went back to work. Tey forged relationships with ex-FBI agents and former members of the Nepali Army. Twice, they sent a private investigator to Nepal to conduct interviews. “It isn’t just that we miss Aubrey or want to punish the people who may have harmed her,” says Paul. “It’s an unending belief that the answers are there, and that we are very close to fnding them.” A N S W E R S D O N ’ T C O M E E A S I L Y in Ne- pal. And it’s not just a culture clash between East and West. Te country is still recover- ing from a 10-year civil war that ended in 2006. During that time, thousands were killed in skirmishes between Communist Maoists and the Nepali Army. According to Human Rights Asia, an estimated 1,400 men, women, and children were marched out of their homes—and out of existence. Nearly all remain missing—likely tortured and murdered—and distrust of the govern- ment runs deep. Te U.S. State Department had an active travel warning for Nepal until 2011. “But travel warnings don’t mean ‘don’t come,’” says Patch, the embassy ofcial. “Tey just mean ‘be aware of what’s happening.’” But what is happening, exactly? Assaults on female hikers in the Langtang region have increased in the last decade, with seven incidents since 2005. With the exception of the soldiers who accosted the French women in 2010, no cases have been solved. Has this hiker’s paradise become a danger zone? Or do Westerners simply believe Nepali villages aren’t subject to the same human problems that plague our own cities? (By any measure, the violent crime rate is lower than in the U.S.) And are the missing trekkers throughout Nepal vic- tims of violence, or of hazards found in mountains everywhere? Patch says the embassy believes most have succumbed in natural accidents, like falling into a river or crevasse. Whatever the dangers, do we contribute to the problem be- cause we like to imagine a Buddhist haven immune to worldly concerns? Au- brey isn’t the only trekker who has said, “Don’t worry. It’s teahouse trekking.” One thing is clear: Te risk increases dramatically if you’re alone. Te Nepali Ministry of Tourism acknowledged as much last year, when it tried to implement a ban on solo trekking (it has issued warnings and temporary bans in the past). Te measure ultimately failed, but the Ministry strongly recommends that all solo trekkers hire a guide (about $20/day). Te U.S. State Department is not waiting for further regulation. On its Ne- pal page, it serves up a stern warning that reads, in part: “Solo trekking can be dangerous, and the lack of available immediate assistance has contributed to injuries and deaths, while also making one more vulnerable to criminals. Although it is not prohibited by local law, the Government of Nepal has reiter- ated its strong recommendation against solo trekking. In separate incidents in the last several years, a number of foreign women (including U.S. citizens) on popular trails have been attacked and seriously injured while trekking alone.” Two of those attacks occurred just months afer Aubrey disappeared, also in Langtang National Park. In December 2011, 23-year-old American Lena Sessions was assaulted while hiking near a popular shrine in the Helambu region. As her attacker attempted to rape her, she grabbed his knife and ran, narrowly escaping. Five months later, in May 2012, another 23-year-old, Belgian Debbie Maveau, hiked into the same region, disappeared, and was found 10 days later—decapitated. Five months afer Maveau’s death, I embarked on my own trek in Langtang. I had been following the search for Aubrey, and that led me to the unsolved attacks on female trekkers. Why couldn’t the cul- prits be caught, I wondered? Were the authorities really as unhelpful as the Saccos and others said they were? I enlisted the help of Pemba Sherpa, a Boulder, Colorado-based Nepali business owner and guide, and in late October 2012, we ar- rived in Kathmandu. We drove 30 miles into Langtang, averaging Assaults on female hikers in the Langtang region have increased in the last decade, with seven inci- dents since 2005. P H O T O S B Y T R A C Y R O S S ( T O P ) ; H E S H P H O T O