Background
Marmaris, in Turkey's Muğla Province, hosts hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign visitors each summer. The mountainous, forested land around the town carries long-distance hiking routes such as the Carian Trail. The trails are popular with walkers, but their steep and rocky sections carry real risk for people hiking alone.
N.S., a 48-year-old visitor from Moscow, was one of the tourists who set out alone on this route in August 2024.
What happened
On the morning of 17 August 2024, N.S. went to the Carian Trail trailhead near the İçmeler neighbourhood. Security cameras recorded her there for the last time, and she did not return to her hotel. When relatives could not reach her, a missing-person report was filed on 19 August and the police were informed.
Gendarmerie, AFAD, police, coast guard teams and many volunteers then searched the rugged terrain for roughly two weeks, using drones and search dogs and combing an area of about eleven kilometres around the trail. During the search a receipt and then the missing woman's mobile phone were found.
Investigation
On 31 August 2024, teams reached N.S.'s body at the bottom of a steep cliff near the trail, close to the sea. Coast guard crews recovered it from the water and brought it ashore. The Marmaris Chief Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation, and the exact cause of death was to be established by autopsy.
Publicly available information contains no indication that anyone else was involved, and there is no detailed official statement on the final outcome of the inquiry.
Where it stands today
The case reopened debate about the risks of hiking alone on long-distance routes in Turkey. Officials and guides advise telling someone your route before setting out, checking phone battery and location sharing, and walking in a group where possible. The adequacy of waymarking and communication along trails also comes up often after similar incidents. This page is written in memory of N.S. and to raise awareness that may help prevent similar losses.