I very much agree, but because of the involvement of law enforcement (SAR), unfortunately the papers found with Mrs Largay became part of the official record. The courts generally treat FOI requests as overriding any idea of privacy.

W_D, I think your solution is the best--assume that anything you leave behind will be made public!

On Whiteblaze the posters seem divided on blaming poor Mrs. Largay and the equally unfortunate SAR folks, who undoubtedly have been blaming themselves for not going a few hundred yards further. Her husband is undoubtedly blaming himself for not going back and picking up the left-behind SPOT, assuming he knew about it.

As I mentioned, as long as the information has already been dragged into the public press, there are lessons we can learn from it, the only possible justification for this "blame game."