Appalachian Trail attack: Hiker played dead to escape knife-wielding suspect

Two hikers were on the famous trail when they were attacked. Photo / Getty Images

A Massachusetts man is facing federal charges in the brutal attack yesterday of two Appalachian Trail hikers that left a man dead and a woman hospitalised with severe stab wounds, authorities said today.

James Louis Jordan, 30, was taken into custody after Wythe County, Virginia, sheriff's deputies located him along the trail in southwestern Virginia, by tracking an SOS signal triggered by one of the victims, officials said.

The US Attorney's office in Western Virginia said that Jordan will be charged with murder and assault with intent to murder in connection with the attack. He is scheduled to appear in court in Abingdon, Virginia, tomorrow.

"The whole Appalachian Trail community of hikers and volunteers is profoundly sickened by the horrific and deadly attack," said Suzanne Dixon, president of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

The names of the victims have not been released, but law enforcement described a horrific scene that involved multiple agencies in a combined effort along the famed scenic trail. It is high season for "thru-hikers" travelling the length of the trail, which stretches along 3380km from Georgia to Maine. Hikers typically begin around the northern spring and trek north.

The 1.5km length of the trail that passes through Wythe County Sheriff Keith Dunagan's jurisdiction - about 560km southwest of Washington, DC - is extremely rural and full of hikers this time of year, authorities said.

Many began their trek in Georgia in March and would have travelled 800km by the time they reached southwestern Virginia, said Brian King, a spokesman for the Conservancy.

Dunagan's deputies were the first to encounter Jordan, several metres from the scene of the attack. The victims had reported that a man wielding a large knife, accompanied by a dog, had threatened a group of four hikers camped out on Saturday.

Jordan allegedly pursued a pair of hikers who fled north, but they eluded him. Those two reached sheriff's deputies in nearby Bland County, and reported the night-time attack, authorities said. The other two hikers fled south, but were unable to escape and Jordan alleged chased and caught up with them, authorities said.

She pretended to be dead and when (Jordan) walked away after his dog, she took off running.

Keith Dunagan

Dunagan said the male victim managed to trigger an SOS signal on his phone and the mobile service provider alerted deputies to his location, just north of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The woman - who suffered defensive wounds and was severely injured by the stabbing - escaped.

"She pretended to be dead and when (Jordan) walked away after his dog, she took off running," Dunagan said.

The woman found help in another group of hikers she encountered 9.5km away in Smyth County, Virginia, and was transported to the nearest trauma centre, the sheriff said.

The Wythe County's Sheriff's Office tactical team travelled 6.5km into the woods to locate the wounded man's SOS signal. They initially came across walkers who described a knife-wielding man known as "Sovereign" who roamed the trail with a dog.

While authorities were talking to the group, a dog ambled over to the camp. Deputies followed the animal, who led them back to Jordan, and he was taken into custody. Investigators later found a 50cm knife nearby along the trail and soon thereafter, discovered the male victim.

Jordan, who authorities think is "Sovereign," was well known to the community of hikers on the trail. Recent news reports of incidents in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia describe a man threatening and chasing other hikers with a machete or large knife.

King, of the trail conservancy, said they had heard of the man through alerts shared between hikers and on Trek, a well-read blog that posts frequent updates about life on the Appalachian Trail.

"He had a reputation because of his belligerence with other hikers in Tennessee and Georgia," King said. "With smartphones, word gets around very quickly."

A Bristol, Tennessee, television station reported that Jordan pleaded guilty to drug and other charges after confronting hikers with a knife near the North Carolina border in late April. He was sentenced to probation, fined and released from custody.

Unicoi County, Tennessee, Sheriff Mike Hensley told local news stations at the time that Jordan had been causing problems on the trail and was a "threat" to hikers.

Homicides are rare on the Appalachian Trail, according to statistics; the last time the trail was the scene of a homicide was in 2011 when a man was found strangled in Virginia. That case remains unsolved. More than three million people hike the trail each year and most hikers take care of one another, King said.