When Sanchez Jr. fell to the ground covered in blood from the knife attack, the female hiker attempted to run away, with Jordan in pursuit. He was sentenced to life in prison, later being charged with three additional murders. James Jordan is accused of killing one hiker, attacking another and threatening two more. June 11, 1981: Randall Lee Smith was charged in the killings after an incriminating note was found in his abandoned pickup . Sanchez and Jordan started arguing and then Sanchez tried to phone 911 from his cell phone. That came after Dog the Bounty Hunter tweeted about needing help near the Appalachian . Bigleys motive for the murder apparently was that he coveted her backpack.. The victims and their stories are in order as follows. The 1986 murders were the first of four incidents FBI and Virginia State Police investigators believe may have involved a serial killer. A Massachusetts man faces a murder charge for allegedly attacking two hikers on the Appalachian Trail with a machete, leaving one dead and the . Margaret picked Ralph out during a police lineup. He didnt like to be around people, wouldnt even go to the grocery store in the daytime. Hiking with a partner is always recommended for safety purposes. He started on the Appalachian Trail for the first time five days before killing Joel in May 1974. It was used by hunters and herders in times gone by. It would be the first of many lies he told. On his way back from the store, he saw a hungry dog, so he stopped the truck. Beauty Beneath the Dirt follows the story of a lawyer, an Ivy League graduate, and a city chick. He stayed at the Priest shelter about 0.6 miles east of the A.T. along the Old Hotel Trail, which loops around and rejoins the A.T. again about two miles north. Smith then followed the two back to their camp and killed them. A man called Randall Lee Smith was arrested for the crimes after fingerprints were found on the inside of one of Su Sus paperback novels. Williams in the truck crashed, suffering head injuries that required a helicopter to take him to a Roanoke hospital. Jordan appeared out of nowhere and began threatening the group, saying that he was going to pour gasoline on their tents and burn them to death. At that point, the four hikers decided to relocate their camp. Appalachian Trail Darrell David Rice Homosexuals Richard Marc Evonitz Serial Killer Route 29 Stalker Alicia Showalter Reynolds Culpeper Lignum David Rice Abduction Homicide Investigator Get. With Ralph holding his gun, Margaret asked whether she could cash a $20 travelers check and where they could stay. The Vandeventer shelter is sometimes believed to be haunted by Balzas ghost. Jordan is currently undergoing a psych evaluation and awaiting trial. Because the crime had been committed on federal land, the Federal Bureau of Investigation assumed control of the investigation. Here, they ran into Fox, a young man who was also spending the night. More lies. Using pings from a nearby cell-phone tower, authorities were able to locate the approximate location of the first stabbing and the tactical team of the Wythe County Sheriffs Office then began the four-mile hike to the crime scene. Here are the stories of the A.T. hikers who started their dream to walk either some or all of it, and never made it back. Sean, a coal-truck driver, and Scott, a layer of ceramic tiles, from Bluefield, Va, were on a fishing trip. The dogs owner was carrying a fishing rod and a bag, walked up, and said he recently had found the dog. 9 out of 10 hikers start in Georgia and head north. The book Murder on the Appalachian Trail, written in 1984 by Jess Carr, is based on the true events of the deaths of Robert Mountford and Laura Ramsay. The double slaying of lesbian hikers along the Appalachian Trail remains unsolved. Sanchez Jr. On the day before the trial, Smith unexpectedly accepted a plea bargain in which he would plead guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in exchange for a sentence of thirty years in prison. While in custody, Smith was noted to be exhibiting dissociative behavior and having forgotten everything about his past, though psychiatric testing ultimately concluded that he was faking it. Twisted ankles, getting turned around on the trail, run-ins with dangerous people or animalsit doesnt take much to turn these minor mishaps into life-threatening events. Sometimes she would go with a friend, but it wasnt unusual for her to pack up her gear and hike by herself, heading into the woods for days to hike and take in nature. Heather "Anish" Anderson completed the trail southbound on September 24, 2015, in 54 days, 7 hours, and 48 minutes. Recording your name at each shelter is the best way to locate you in case you go missing, and to notify you in case you need to be contacted quickly for a family emergency. Super interesting story, would love to know what you. Then he headed for New Orleans, then Fort Lauderdale, and after that Atlanta. About a week later, on March 5, 1992, police were called to a muddy field in rural Lapeer, where they recovered the strangled, nude body of 29-year-old Diane Good from Detroit. The man arrested was confirmed to be wearing Geoff Hoods backpack, boots, and watch and was carrying the two murder weapons, the knife and .22 caliber Winchester Pistol. Then Ralph announced he in fact would not let Margaret go as he had planned when they reached the road., the Georgia route 75. Authorities charged Paul Bigley with the crime. In 1974, Joel Polson was murdered in Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia. After 10-15 minutes, Ralph returned and removed her blindfold, untied her, and led her back to the shelter. While camping near the Wapiti shelter, fishermen Scott Johnson and Sean Farmer met Randall Smith (who said his name was Ricky Williams) and invited him to join them for dinner. It's getting dark, we got to go.. They were directed to the Chattahoochee Motel. He ordered her to her feet, then guided her up the narrow path that led into the woods. The two were 27-year-old social workers hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money for troubled adolescents in Maine. The phrase, "hiking the Appalachian Trail", became a euphemism for having an affair after it was used as a cover for, ATC's official annual Appalachian Trail guide is the, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 01:14. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as a homicide. The Shelter and the Hotel Trail are 16.8 miles (an average days hike on the trail). . He called himself Sovereign, the captain of the hit squad, and when he looked into the eyes of the hikers he encountered, he seemed very far away. The original Thelma Marks shelter on the Appalachian Trail where Molly LaRue and Geoff Hood were murdered on Sept. 13, 1990. Geoffrey Hood 26, from Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and Molly LaRue 25, from Shaker Heights, Ohio, had met in Salina, Kansas at a church-sponsored program for vulnerable young people. He then led her back into the woods, around 200 yards from the shelter. SOBO refers to South Bound hikers starting from Mount Katahdin in Maine and NOBO to northern bound hikers heading from Springer Mountain in Georgia. Read more on the story at: James Jordan - The Appalachian Trail Murderer. The 2200 mile (3500 km) Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the A.T., is a marked hiking trail in the US, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. flag. The chances of being murdered on the A.T. are very low as there have been less than a dozen cases of foul play since it opened, that have been discovered anyway. She kept constant communication with her husband, meeting him at various points along the trail for resupply. He returned to Ingram to live with his mother and wore an electronic monitoring anklet as part of his ten years of supervision. Randall Lee Smith Randall Lee Smith (1954 - May 10, 2008) was a convicted murderer from Pearisburg, Virginia. He moved to Lapeer County, Michigan, about 50 miles north of Detroit. The killer was never found. She tried to text her husband many times, but the text wouldnt send because of no cell service. They were resting not far into the hike when two men with chainsaws came into view, one of them the same forester she and Joel had spoken with the day before. They were lifelong friends. After they were murdered, their bodies were placed in their own sleeping bodies and then buried. From unpredictable weather to animal encounters, to dehydration to infections, theres a slew of threats hikers should always keep at least one eye out for. 1981: Robert Mountford Jr. and Laura Susan Ramsay were killed by Randall Lee Smith (pictured). Sanchez had served three tours in Iraq and 16 years in the U.S. army in total. On May 9, 1974, Joel and Margaret started their A.T. hike at the southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Georgia. Scott intended to hike southbound from Maryland to Springer Mountain in Georgia, but he never made it. Cloud, Minnesota, and her twenty-six-year-old girlfriend, Laura Winans, of Unity, Maine, went on a camping trip in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. [13] RICHMOND, Va. - A Massachusetts man charged with killing an Appalachian Trail hiker and attacking . Ahead of him, prosecutors say, two frightened hikers barrelled down the narrow and twisting section of the Appalachian. On November 15, 2001, she left her home in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, and drove towards Mount Washington to hike some of the Appalachian Trail. The A.T. is marked for daylight travel in both directions using a system of white "blazes," or a rectangle of white paint 2 inches wide and 6 inches high. One morning she ventured off the trail in the 100-mile wilderness area for a pit stop and lost her way back. He was likely dead around 12 days before his discovery. He turned down their offer of food. However, there have only been ten murders along the Appalachian Trail since the early 1970s. Keep your loved ones minds at ease by checking in and communicating regularly. When you have cell service, read up on forums/blogs to see what hikers are saying about the trail ahead. Eight days following the murder, West Virginia police arrested Crews after hikers noticed him acting strange and awkwardly carrying an ill-fitting, overstuffed backpack (Hoods) which included both murder weapons and the young couple's belongings. Murders on the Appalachian Trail are rare on a year-to-year basis but they are not unheard of. As they entered the shelter they found another hiker already settled on the bare plank floor. It was the weekend that Geoff and Molly had planned to meet their parents in Harpers Ferry, to celebrate their halfway mark of hiking the Appalachian Trail. THE FOREST TRAIL THAT BEGINS at the highest point on Virginia's Skyline Drive and drops quickly away from civilization seems an . Ted's Bio; Fact Sheet; Hoja Informativa Del Ted Fund; Ted Fund Board 2021-22; 2021 Ted Fund Donors; Ted Fund Donors Over the Years. The killer was never found. Smith made efforts to conceal evidence of the murders. Is it safe to hike the Appalachian Trail? Bill Bryson. Something he repeated twice more in the following hours. The FBI spent five years and a reported $24 million searching for Rudolph and turned up empty-handed. She asked to take a shower and Ralph followed her into the bathroom to stop her climbing out of the window. appalachian trail murders wiki. The following morning, Fox shot Polson, stole his gear, and kidnapped McFaddin who was 18 years old at the time. How many people hike the Appalachian Trail each year? The Appalachian Trail is usually known as a quiet, serene, and blissful place where ordinary people can go to escape the rigors of urban society. The Appalachian Trail, which is 2,193 miles long and spans 15 states, is not the longest trail in the United States. Farmer held up his hand through the window to block the bullet, but he didn't fire. On Friday, August 12, 2011, a group of hikers came across a dead body, lying in a shallow grave along a side trail to Cow Camp Gap Shelter in George WashingtonJefferson National Forest. I Quit my job, and left to. In addition, there is the disturbing story of Julie Williams, 24, and Lollie Winans, 26, on May 19, 1996, at the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. In theory, this means you are 10X more likely to be murdered in Chicago than the Appalachian Trail. But Crews escaped and drove to North Carolina to his brother, who helped him escape capture with a ride out of town and money. As Johnston banged on the door and pleaded for help, Farmer staggered out of the Jeep. A 3500km trail from Georgia to Maine. Johnston and Farmer sensed that the man calling himself Wiliams was not being truthful, but they didn't hold it against him and they believed he was just trying to impress them. Later, he attempted murder again in the same location. He attempted to flirt with her but was interrupted by Mountford. They were shot and stabbed by Paul David Crews, a wanted killer on the run from Florida police. In January 2012, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner would release the cause of death as asphyxia by suffocation. and ruled the death a homicide. Johnston got up and ran away from the stranger trying to get to a stand of cedar trees 20 feet away, not fully realizing he had been shot. Did she know of a place that would overlook that? This means there is currently less than a .00003% chance of being murdered on the AT. Thompson waited inside for Ralph to return and he was quickly arrested. Smith was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and served 15 years of a 30-year sentence before being released for good behavior on mandatory parole. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy claims the Appalachian Trail to be the longest hiking-only trail in the world. Her body was found three miles from where she was last seen. But Joel kept coming back and before long she agreed to join him. She left it as it was. Whilst waiting for the bus, they walked to a nearby bank to cash more travelers checks. They then hitched yet another ride to Cornelia. The Appalachian Trail community was shocked when one hiker was killed and another critically wounded in a recent pre-dawn attack on the trail. On July 3, 1986, the authorities were sure he killed a woman who had given him a ride and they charged him on July 7 with her murder. An autopsy determined that the murders occurred sometime before dawn. Then out of the blue, the man stood up and smacked his hand against his thigh to wake the sleeping dog, saying, Come on, boy. Joe McConaughy completed the trail northbound on August 31, 2017, in 45 days, 12 hours, and 15 minutes. You can get a pretty good impression of this movie from watching the second half of the trailer below. Randall Lee Smith, convicted murder photographed in 1973. The trail sees an annual average of about 4 million visitors which makes the murder rate on the trail substantially lower than that of regular society. Ralph Fox was eventually arrested for the murder. More than three million people hike segments of the . Farmer then stood up, unable to figure out what had happened, and felt his face. The Jury under Circuit Judge Martin E. Clements declared him guilty. James Jordan, 30, of West Yarmouth, Mass., was arrested . In June 2003 he was transferred to the state prison hospital. He then turned the gun, a .22-caliber revolver, on Farmer, shooting him in the chest from several feet away. According to Brian King, publisher for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, there have been 10 murders in eight incidents on the trail since the first murder was recorded in 1974. In July 1991, Ralph was given a one-month reprieve from his prison sentence to attend the funeral of his brother in Michigan and then he was paroled. No rights are granted to reproduce any items found on this site. It is estimated that more than three million hikers visit the Trail annually; in the Trails history, 11 hikers have been murder victims. More tips on crime prevention can be found atwww.appalachiantrail.org/crime-prevention. - Appalachian Trail Conservancy. This article is only intended to present the facts. The original Thelma Marks shelter on the Appalachian Trail where Molly LaRue and Geoff Hood were murdered on Sept. 13, 1990. . Fortunately, she played dead and Jordan then left and returned to the campsite, without finishing her off. We explore the famous A ppalachian trail murders. He traveled along the trail to remove, from multiple shelters, log books that had the details of Su Su and Roberts visits. Ralph stepped up to the counter and purchased a $3 ticket to Atlanta. Before driving off, Johnston told the man he was camping just up the road at the Lions Den Campground. Randall Lee Smith in 2008 after sustaining injuries in a car crash following another attempted double-murder on the AT. Worried because the stranger said he had been unable to catch any fish, Johnston reached into his ice cooler and pulled out five trout for him. What are the biggest dangers of the A.T.? He asked whether Joel had any money. He was given a 15-year sentence for the crime, but he served only a small part before he escaped from the Michigan State Prison in Jackson. Margaret worried that the two men would notice she was hiking with another man to Joel. Crews, a manic-depressive and frequent drug user, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is currently serving two life sentences without the chance of parole. If you choose to carry a gun, be sure to check out the concealed carry laws for each state youll be passing through and have any essential permits. He covered her backpack with leaves and wedged his own rucksack behind her as a backrest and told Margaret he would leave a note in the shelter saying where she was. Molly was face down in a pool of blood, with her hands tied behind her back, and Geoff was partially naked with a white shirt in his hand. Once in the car, Ralph told her they had travelers checks but had lost their IDs. The autopsy found that a .38-caliber bullet had entered Joels skull just behind his left ear. 1975: Janice Balza from Wisconsin was thru-hiking when a man named Paul Bigley killed her with a hatchet for her backpack. The body was identified by the F.B.I. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. He had returned to the United States with PTSD as well as combat-related injuries, according to his former wife, Elizabeth Sanchez. What is it Like to Sleep in an Appalachian Trail Shelter? Lillys cause of death was labeled a homicide caused by asphyxia by suffocation. He told Margaret she could stay where she was or hike out of the mountains together and reach a highway for help. This movie does focus on the emotions of the trail. As Johnston cleaned the fish by the creek and cooked them on the fire with a pot of beans, Williams talked about football and music. At 1 pm, Johnston had been fishing for trout all morning in Dismal Creek, just below the Appalachian Trail, and had driven his Ford Ranger pickup truck the nearly 4 miles to Trent's Grocery to pick up some supplies. Four miles down the road, they stopped at the home of Sammy and Pearl Miller on Dismal Creek Road, who were home with daughters Sheila and Melissa and son Chris. Although millions have hiked part of the trail, and many thousands have done the thru-hike from end to end, there have the unfortunate few who have succumbed to foul play at the hands of deranged killers. Investigators have never said publicly if they made a. The name describes a hiker's characteristics or experience. The man introduced himself as Ricky Williams of Newport, another lie. Experts have suggested Brian might be on the Appalachian Trail. An even more widely-recognized title was that of "Appalachian Trail Murderer." Decades earlier, Smith had pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree murder in connection with the May, 1981 . Therefore you are many times more likely to die from foul play in a typical US city than on the trail. The night passed uneventfully, and Joel woke Margaret, urging her to get moving. He told Margaret that if she wanted to keep a memento of Joel, she was welcome to go through his pack. If you adopt a trail name and use it in logs, be sure to share it with your family/friends. How is the A.T. marked? The two women encountered Carr again later that day while they stopped to look at their map. They hitched a ride to Clevelands Trailways station where Margaret asked the man at the counter for a ticket to Columbia, via Atlanta first. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy's mission is to protect, manage, and advocate for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. We asked the Appalachian Trail Conservancy: The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is a relatively safe place, but it is not immune from crime or insulated against the problems of larger society. Farmer crouched down in his seat, waiting for the next shot. 02:59. As he hit the dirt road leading out, Johnston stepped out of the woods and into the road and he was picked up. He was eventually tracked down in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Mr Laundrie spent his entire childhood in New York State, mostly at Sayville near Bay Point on Long Island, where he and Ms Petito went to school, a grade apart. After Jordan left the scene, the female hiker got up and continued to run down the trail, eventually coming upon some other campers who were just off the trail, who then helped her hike six more miles to a trailhead. Today we're talking about the survival story of Scott Johnston and Sean Farmer on the Appalachian Trail! At the trial that started on May 15, 1991, he blamed cocaine and alcohol for his behavior, but the prosecutor gave evidence that showed the gun found on Crews test-fired to match the bullets removed from Geoffreys body. Here it contours along the mountain making several small stream crossings before entering an old clearing where an old cabin stood known as the Hotel. Home; About. as Scott A. Lilly, 30, of South Bend, Indiana. So, what dangers do pose the biggest threats? Hikers are advised to plan ahead and prepare for their journeys, be self-reliant, and use situational awareness with a back-up plan in case they encounter the unexpected. All Votes Add Books To This List. The Bowens headed back to Duncannon, the closest town, to report the crime to the authorities. The novel Murder on the Appalachian Trail (1985), by Jess Carr, is a fictionalized account of the 1981 murders. On May 16, the Atlanta Police Department received a telephone tip from a woman who said shed met a man matching the newspapers description of the Appalachian Trail murder suspect and they were told the location of the apartment where he lived. They were found later that day on September 13 by Cindi and Brian Bowen, A.T. hikers who used the trail names The Lone Moccasins. WWII vet Earl Schaffer is generally believed to be the first person to thru-hike the trail in 1948. On average, there has been one murder every four years since 1974. The most recent being in 2011, when Scott Lilly was found dead with evidence leading to foul play. Read the full story at: Scott Lilly - unsolved murders on the Appalachian trail. He began his trek early in the season, figuring hed average a slower pace than most due to knee and shoulder injuries. When she walked in, he opened fire with a rifle but fortunately missed. One of Scotts interests was Civil War history and that was what brought him to Virginia, and to hike the trail, starting June 15, 2011. Geraldine Largay, Disappeared July 23, 2013, Body Found October 2015, Redington township, Appalachian Trail, Maine Revised March 2021 Geraldine (Gerry) Largay, aged 68, was a retired air force nurse who had hiked long trails near her home in Tennessee. This does not impact how we review products. The Appalachian Trail has actually been the site of numerous murders and other gruesome deaths over the years. To date, there have been 13 total murders recorded. After covering just six miles that day, late in the afternoon, they found the Low Gap shelter and decided to stay the night. Welcome to Appalachian Mysteria, a true-crime podcast series that all started with Mared & Karen: The WVU Coed Murders and Big Savage: The Death of Alexander Stevens. Geoffrey Hood, 26, and Molly LaRue, 25, were a young thru-hiking couple who spent their last night staying at a shelter near Cove Mountain. ", Hilton told the investigators after the facts. He confessed to stealing Joels gear and to kidnapping Margaret but said he had no intention of harming her. Smith was taken back to Virginia by police and charged with two counts of murder. She had multiple stab wounds on her body. The man was identified as Ralph Howard Fox, 31, from Detroit. Her body was found on Thanksgiving Day with multiple stab wounds. The deputies found blood on Jordans clothes and arrested him. by Barry Yeoman on November 1, 1996. Joel Polson was hiking with a woman named Margaret McFaddin when they stopped to spend the night at Low Gap Shelter. The Forest Service Says "Yes", "Wheelchair-accessible paths on the Appalachian Trail", "What's In Your Pack? BRIAN Laundrie, a person of interest in the murder investigation of his vlogger fiance Gabby Petito, remains at large more than a week after vanishing from his parents' home in Florida. He pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Robert Mountford Jr. and Laura Susan Ramsay, who were killed while hiking the Appalachian Trail, in May 1981. An arrest was announced Sunday after a machete attack on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia left one man dead and a woman seriously injured. She had made a reservation at the lodge at the Appalachian Mountain Club but never returned. Mountford had been shot three times in the face, while Ramsay was stabbed repeatedly with a long nail. But what about the dangers that stretch beyond mother nature what about human nature? In March 1964, with Ann pregnant, Ralph forced a Detroit high school junior into his car at gunpoint, then drove her 13 miles to a wooded lovers lane in Troy, Michigan. In an emergency, or when encountering threatening behavior, hikers are advised to call 9-1-1 immediately. The Cove Mountain Shelter replaced the Thelma Marks Shelter in 2000. ", "The Smoky Mountain Hiking Blog: Was Earl Shaffer the first person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail? 10 days following the attack, Carr was arrested and sentenced to life without parole. Chicago has a similar population to the number of A.T. hikers each year and In 2020, there were 769 murders in the city. Myron Avery was reportedly the first person to section hike the trail. They later divorced. Emerson was a fast hiker, so Hilton soon fell behind and she continued her ascent alone. Jordan eventually gave up the chase and returned to the campsite and began verbally abusing the other two hikers, a man, 43-year-old Ronnie S. Sanchez Jr., of Oklahoma, and a woman. As the podcast has grown we decided to combine our feeds, join forces with Jam Street Media for season 3. Get A Copy Amazon Stores Libraries Unknown Binding, 401 pages Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot said the victims' relatives approved the deal. Gary Michael Hilton, a 61-year-old drifter, befriended and hiked for some time with 24-year-old Meredith Emerson and her dog. It was a three-sided lean-to, around 30 feet from the trail, surrounded by trees. Williams came around the front of the Jeep and pointed the gun at Farmer. A 1985 book written about the murders, Murder on the Appalachian Trail, had the theory that Smith was delusional and living a fantasy life because of a troubled childhood. The murder weapon was recovered near the shelter. The Appalachian Trail spans 14 states. The best books about the Appalachian Trail. Between 2 and 3 million people are said to take a hike on part of the trail at least once each year. At one point the Jeep hit an embankment and nearly flipped, but the two kept on despite the fact that they had been shot. When hikers take on the Appalachian Trail - either in part or the entire 2,180-mile (3508-km) route - they will often take on a trail name. Investigators searched Smiths home and found a note claiming he had been abducted by two people who were going to kill him. In 1975, Janice Balza was murdered with a hatchet in Tennessee. Note this is about the hiking trail- not Appalachia in general. As Joel walked to the stream to freshen up and doubled back toward the fire ring, Ralph left the shelter. The area is in the Mount Pleasant Special Management Area. 43-year-old Ronald Sanchez spent 16 years in the Army and served three tours in Iraq. Louise crossed the border at Norton, Vermont at 11.45 am. 2008:Meredith Emerson was abducted on a side trail on Blood Mountain in Georgia, by Gary M. Hilton, who killed her several days later. Other major causes are drowning in the many rivers near the trail and falls. In October 1969, he was recaptured in Miami and returned to the Michigan State Prison. If you comment, please be respectful and consider the victim's families. After seven months, he failed to appear at a meeting with his parole officer and didnt turn up at home or his job. While out on parole he broke into Anns apartment and lay in wait for her. There in his cell the next day, officers found him unresponsive. "She wouldn't stop fighting. The prosecutor who led the prosecution against Smith during his trial, along with an acquaintance of Smith's, theorized that Smith, through his virtual lack of inexperience of women, became romantically obsessed with Ramsay because she was friendly to him when they met in a store along the trail. They headed back to the A.T. with Margaret in the lead, with her hands now untied and Ralph behind with his gun. There it found Sanchez's body, who had died from his injuries, along with a dog which then led the team to the suspect. To date, there have been no reported homicides on either the CDT or PCT. Ralph told her that if they ran into anyone and Margaret said anything or do anything to signal that theres something wrong that hed kill everyone.