googled name and came up with this
Both are from archived/cached pages.
Posted on Sat, Jul. 05, 2003
Authorities say Gwinnett teen died from cardiac arrest while hiking Appalachian Trail
Associated Press
SNICKERS GAP, Va. - A 15-year-old girl from Georgia died in a remote area of the Appalachian Trail from cardiac arrest, Virginia authorities announced on Friday.
Danita Ritchie of Gwinnett County was hiking with a group of young people from Lawrenceville near the Clarke-Loudoun county line when she became unconscious at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, state police said. She was pronounced dead on the trail an hour later.
Her body was taken to Fairfax for an autopsy on Thursday.
The group, from an all-girl school in Jesup, was on a section of the trail known as "The Roller Coaster" because of its steep rocky climbs and sharp descents, officials said. By the time rescuers reached the rugged area, there was nothing they could do, Trooper Richard McClanahan said.
The medical examiner said she became dizzy and her heart had sped up, causing the heart attack, said Donald Ritchie, Danita's father.
"Danita was a great girl," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "She was an artist. She played the piano and she wrote poetry. This is very difficult because to me she is still a baby."
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Gwinnett hiker, 15, dies on Appalachian Trail
The Associated Press
SNICKERS GAP, Va. -- A 15-year-old girl from Georgia died after becoming ill
in a remote area of the Appalachian Trail on Wednesday, authorities said.
Danita Ritchie of Gwinnett County was hiking with a group of young people
from Georgia near the Clarke-Loudoun county line when she became ill, state
police said.
The group was on a section of the trail known as "The Roller Coaster"
because of its steep rocky climbs and sharp descents, officials said. By the
time rescuers reached the rugged area, there was nothing they could do,
Trooper Richard McClanahan said.
"There's no indication of foul play," McClanahan said. "It appears to be a
medical thing. At this point we have no idea what kind of medical problem it
was."
Richie's body was taken to Fairfax for an autopsy to be performed Thursday.
By late afternoon, a heavy fog and mist had settled in on portions of the
mountain, and Red Cross volunteers waited in a steady rain for the stunned
hikers in the group to emerge from the trail. The group was taken to the
Blue Ridge Fire and Rescue Squad.
"They were pretty upset, but they calmed down, and the Red Cross and the
fire department auxiliary got them something to eat," McClanahan said.
It was the second time within a week that a 15-year-old required assistance
on the same stretch of trail, Clarke County Sheriff Dale Gardner said. Last
week, a boy took ill while hiking and was helped from the trail, but he is
expected to recover.
"It's one of the roughest parts of the trail," Gardner said.
