Katy's Monument

Derek was asked to go up to Concho for work this past weekend. I have a lot of family in Show Low and Taylor, so we all went along to visit. The kids and I spent most of the trip with my aunt and uncle while Derek was working. They took us to Katy's Monument.

Katy Lavora Hatch was my Great Grandmother's little sister. In 1905, their family went camping on the Apache Indian Reservation near Lakeside. Seven year old Katy lost her way when returning to camp from the stream. Many people searched for her including local families, Apaches, Calvary members, rescue dogs, and many more. It was the largest search and rescue effort to date at the time.

She was finally discovered 20 days later. She was found nine miles from camp. All that remained was her perfect little skeleton. No one in the search party believed she was able to cross the river, so they held off searching the other side of it. Feeling they had searched every square inch of the woods, they finally decided to search the other side. Upon discovering her, they determined she had removed her shoes, rolled her stalkings and placed them in her shoes, tied the laces together and hung them around her neck. She then crossed the heavily flowing river by way of a fallen tree. They assume that she must have eventually began losing her mind since all of her clothing was found in neatly folded piles in 4 different places between the river and where she was found.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be 7 years old and lost in the woods for that long. No one knows how many days she actually survived, but imagining her alone for even one dark night breaks my heart. She was found 9 miles away but must have traveled many more miles than that as she zigzagged through the forest. There is another monument marking the spot where Katy was found, but it is difficult to find. It was a humbling experience to be there in that spot as I watched my own little girl play.