... May 11, 2019 … “What really got my attention was that one of the hikers said he told them, ‘It’s going to be a bad day for hikers on the trail.’” Upon hearing that, Hensley says he immediately deployed deputies, but they were unable to locate Jordan. Our rigorous coverage helps spark important debates about wellness and travel and adventure, and it provides readers an accessible gateway to new outdoor passions. Jordan chased after her. There it found Sanchez's body, who died from his injuries, along with a dog which then led the team to the suspect. By comparison, the Pacific Crest Trail is longer (2,650 miles) although markedly younger trail … While the violent deaths are tragic, the Appalachian Trail overwhelmingly remains a place of beauty rather than brutality. In the court documents, the hikers said that Jordan was “acting disturbed and unstable, and was playing his guitar and singing.” Later that night, the four set up camp a few miles from where the first encounter occured, in Wythe County, Virginia. This year, 2015, according to the Appalachian Trail … message that the hiker’s hand-held GPS device had transmitted. The attack on the hiker, who has not been publicly identified, and his companion has unnerved denizens of the hiking world who meander through the wilderness of the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. In recent years, Outside Online has reported on groundbreaking research linking time in nature to improved mental and physical health, and we’ve kept you informed about the unprecedented threats to America’s public lands. ... May 16, 2019 10:07 AM Advertisement. Mr. Jordan had been known to hikers and law enforcement agencies whose jurisdictions stretch along the trail since April, when he was accused of threatening people on the trail in Unicoi County, Tenn., the arrest affidavit said. Word of the attack, in which Sheriff Dunagan said the suspect used a 20-inch knife, spread quickly. He said there was “sadness, with a little bit of trauma” among those who hike and work on the trail. A man was charged with fatally stabbing a hiker and wounding another in Virginia. At 6:14 on Saturday morning, the team arrived at the campsite where the first attack occurred. Then, on April 22, Jordan appeared at a road crossing where trail angels were handing out food to thru-hikers. Looking for something else? The attack took place around the time that aspiring “thru-hikers” set off at the start of the spring season. Norman recognized Jordan from his arrest photo, which had been widely circulated in the trail community, and invited Jordan to dinner. Our Tax ID number: 526046689. According to Norman, Jordan also said that he had family in Maryland. Time outside is essential—and we can help you make the most of it. The four hikers moved on, and later set up camp along a portion of trail that veers into neighboring Wythe County, but Mr. Jordan caught up with them, “spoke to the hikers through their tents, and threatened to pour gasoline on their tents and burn them to death,” the affidavit said. Both the female stabbing victim and the two hikers who fled from Jordan identified him as the attacker. After he left to find his dog, she ran down the trail and found other hikers who helped her hike six miles to safety, it said. The two, along with Jordan’s dog, traveled 90 miles to Johnston City, Tennessee, to put him on the bus. James L. Jordan, 30, has been charged with murder after he allegedly stabbed an Iraq War veteran to death on the Appalachian Trail last Saturday … “We all knew about his violent interactions by then,” Norman told me by phone on Monday from a motel near Abingdon, Virginia, where the FBI has housed him and four other witnesses to Jordan’s crime. War Veteran Stabbed to Death on Appalachian Trail Was Hiking to Overcome PTSD Veteran Killed on Appalachian Trail Was Hiking to Overcome PTSD. Mr. Jordan did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody, said Brian McGinn, a spokesman for the office. “We knew there was trouble down here with this boy,” Hensley told me by phone on Monday. There were bloodstains on the man’s clothing. A verbal altercation occurred between Jordan and the male hiker, who the FBI identified on Tuesday as 43-year-old Richard S. Sanchez Jr., of Oklahoma. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s mission is to protect, manage, and advocate for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Making a financial contribution to Outside Online only takes a few minutes and will ensure we can continue supplying the trailblazing, informative journalism that readers like you depend on. Following Sanchez's murder, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy updated its website to make it easier to request help or report suspicious activity. In the middle of the night James L. Jordan, another person staying at the same location, started acting strange. The attack unnerved the disparate but close-knit community of hikers on the 2,190-mile trail. I knew this guy was a serious problem.” But news of his threatening behavior made its way up the trail, as reports of “Sovereign” harassing other hikers continued. Alleged Appalachian Trail attacked James L. Jordan threatened to burn hikers to death, FBI says The suspect, James Louis Jordan, 30, of Yarmouth, … They thought it was a little unusual,” said Wythe County sheriff Keith Dunagan at a press briefing on Sunday. He was apprehended with a fake ID, marijuana, and other drug paraphernalia. Check out our entire suite of free newsletters here. These are far from the only killings on the trail. Each year the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) compiles stats on how many people attempt and complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. When the hikers arrived at a hostel a day or so later, they reported the incident to Mike Hensley, sherriff of Unicoi County, Tennessee, who interviewed them late that night. That section of the trail was reopened on Sunday. “All this with the caveat that statistics mean absolutely nothing to the families and peripheral victims.”. “Please know that this could happen anywhere and you can’t live in fear. The suspect in a deadly machete attack against two hikers on the Appalachian Trail this weekend has been arrested, authorities said. On Friday, on a portion of the trail that veers into Smyth County in southwest Virginia, Mr. Jordan approached four hikers and acted “disturbed and unstable,” playing his guitar and singing, the affidavit said. Allegedly, Jordan eventually gave up the chase and returned to the campsite, near Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. As always, I welcome this transition, but each time I do so with a small dose of seemingly incurable apprehension. Jordan, who gave himself the trail name “Sovereign,” has been a known nuisance on the trail for several months. He then reportedly began yelling at the two remaining hikers, a man and a woman. Hikers I spoke with said they did not see any warnings posted or any other alerts about potential violence in the region. Jordan then left and returned to the campsite, according to authorities. Jordan initiated a verbal argument with some of the backpackers there, who also alerted authorities. A Pennsylvania man who was reported missing by his wife last week has been found dead along the Appalachian Trail, state police said. He started yelling and … To inspire active participation in the world outside through award-winning coverage of the sports, people, places, adventure, discoveries, health and fitness, gear and apparel, trends and events that make up an active lifestyle. They recently updated their numbers for 2017, which provides an opportunity to look at some overarching trends. “So sad, but it will not affect my travels on the AT,” Robin Reinstein Lurie, a hiking guide in North Carolina, wrote on a Facebook page. Sue Clements, a 53-year-old found dead after being missing in the Great Smoky Mountains last fall, died of hypothermia, according to autopsy. And so, on the night of May 10, Jordan allegedly prowled among the campers on the Appalachian Trail, threatening to pour gasoline on their tents and burn them to death… You can only imagine the heartbreak the families of the victims had to go through. They set off into the forest and encountered other hikers who said they had been unnerved by a man who had talked to them during the night, trying to get them to unzip their tent so he could borrow a flashlight, Sheriff Dunagan said. Because the Appalachian Trail is administered by the National Park Service, the FBI has the ultimate jurisdiction over crimes committed there. Early on Saturday, sheriff’s deputies in southwest Virginia received an unusual message. Jordan then confronted them with a knife. The decision to do more to alert hikers to the potential danger Jordan posed rested with the National Park Service. Death on the AT - 75.10 Miles - From The Station at Route 19E To Damascus - Hey Everyone, I apologize for not keeping up with my posts. He pled guilty and was ordered to stay off the trail. Mr. Jordan’s public defender could not be reached for comment on Monday. The dog led them to its owner, James L. Jordan, who was standing about 30 yards away, according to Sheriff Keith Dunagan of Wythe County, who recounted the events on Monday. The hikers said that Jordan was “acting disturbed and unstable, and was playing his guitar and singing.”. James L. Jordan, 31, appeared June 11 in US District Court in Abingdon, Virginia, where Magistrate Judge Pamela Sargent found that based on the findings of a mental health evaluation, … James L. Jordan, 30, of West Yarmouth, Mass., was charged in the fatal stabbing of one person and the wounding of another on the Appalachian Trail. Jordan then began stabbing her. That knife is being held in the evidence room at the Unicoi Sheriff’s Office. She turned to face him and raised her arms as if to surrender, but Mr. Jordan stabbed her until she fell to the ground and played dead, according to the affidavit. The Appalachian Trail has actually been the site of numerous murders and other gruesome deaths over the years. HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — Authorities recovered human remains and the clothing of an unknown person Tuesday off the Appalachian Trail in Jefferson County, … Subscribe to our newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest outdoor news. James Jordan was arrested last week and charged in the Appalachian Trail stabbing death of Army veteran and hiker Ronald Sanchez Jr., 43, of Oklahoma, and the brutal assault against an unidentified woman in Virginia. An emergency signal had been sent from a hiker’s GPS device on the Appalachian Trail. On Monday, hikers took to social-media sites, wondering why more had not been done—particularly given the number of thru-hikers in Virginia this time of year. On Sunday, that section of trail was reopened, but hikers were encouraged to share information with the sheriff’s department. The trail was conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester who wrote his original plan—called "An Appalachian Trail, A Project in Regional Planning" —shortly after the death of his wife in 1921. Fatal Stabbing on Appalachian Trail Is Uncovered Thanks to GPS and a Dog. “He looked like a lot of the people come off the trail, kind of dirty” and smelling strongly, the sheriff said. The National Park Service referred all questions to the FBI, which did not know if any warnings had been posted, since that would have taken place before the crime. War Veteran Stabbed to Death on Appalachian Trail Was Hiking to Overcome PTSD. The wounded hiker was transported to a nearby medical center in Bristol, Tennessee, where she is recovering from her injuries. Thank you. Many more murder victims lost their live on side trails near the Appalachian Trail, including Meredith Emerson in 2008. Two of the hikers escaped, with Mr. Jordan in pursuit, according to the affidavit. A woman played dead so she could fend off a knife-wielding man accused of killing a hiker and threatening others in two separate incidents along the Appalachian Trail… “The threats that Jordan was making were very much on our radar,” says King. Updated May 24, 2019; Posted May 16, 2019 Geoffrey Hood and Molly LaRue were killed by Paul David Crews on the Appalachian Trail near Duncannon on Sept. 13, … So the deputies went into the forest to look for him. Norman says he and other hikers still want an answer as to why Jordan was allowed to remain on the trail. FB Tweet. On May 3, Jordan boarded a northbound bus. I will carry my mace spray with me.”. The woman who was with him ran, but Mr. Jordan caught up to her, the affidavit said. These two backpackers then helped the female victim hike six more miles to a trailhead, where they called 911. Dee Rybiski, a spokesperson for the FBI field office in Richmond, Virginia, confirmed by phone on Monday that that office’s Evidence Response Unit was gathering evidence on the trail. The fatal stabbing was the 10th murder on the trail in 45 years of record-keeping, he said. This weekend, the authorities closed a portion of the trail in southwest Virginia where the assault had taken place, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy said. Kathryn Miles May 14, 2019 James L. Jordan, 30, of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, appeared in federal court Monday, where he was charged with murder and assault with intent to … As they stopped to talk to other hikers on the trail, a dog wandered up to the group. Pinterest. As he caught up to her, the female hiker raised her arms in surrender. It was a pit bull mix and GPS coordinates that led to Mr. Jordan’s arrest. 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