Question:
Finley, the suspect, was captured tonight around 7:00pm, several hours east (by auto) of Linville Gorge in Richmond/Montgomery County, according to Charlotte TV stations.
Response:
Finley, the suspect, was captured tonight around 7:00pm, several hours east (by auto) of Linville Gorge in Richmond/Montgomery County, according to Charlotte TV stations.
Guess the loser wasn’t quite the "recon bushwhacker" he hoped to be. Tragic and pathetic, all at once. With any luck, his future cellmate will be a Big Man in a rutting mood…. Cheers, "It’s hard to be unhappy when you have warm feet." – Dave, Fellow Snow Camper —
Response:
Were these people murdered on the trail or simply killed elsewhere and bodies dumped on the trail? Give all the known facts before alarming everyone in NC who reads the posts. Were victims young/old? how dressed? shot? stabbed? external wounds? yada…yada…yada.
Response:
I found the below article at: http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/015636.htm 2 campers shot to death; sheriff identifies suspect By TONY MECIA Staff Writer Two campers were found shot to death Sunday morning near a popular hiking trail in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area in northern Burke County. The Burke County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous call around noon Sunday that two people appeared to have been shot at a campsite. When police and rescue workers arrived, they found two people dead. The victims, who had not been identified late Sunday, were a white man and white woman who appeared to be in their 20s, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators have identified a suspect but they were unsure of a motive for the killings Sunday. The bodies were found about 20 or 30 minutes down Spence Ridge trail, a steep, narrow foot path that leads to the Linville River. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the deaths with the help of the State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Forest Service. The Linville Gorge Wilderness Area is composed of 12,000 acres owned by the U.S. Forest Service. It attracts 34,000 visitations a year. The Spence Ridge trail is the area’s commonly used eastern access near N.C. 181. Late Sunday, the Sheriff’s Office identified a suspect: James Andrew Finley Jr., 21, of Hickory. Finley is a white man, 6 feet 3 inches tall, 175 pounds, with reddish blond hair and blue eyes and an Uncle Sam tattoo on his left shoulder. The Sheriff’s Office said Finley is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (828) 438-5500 or call 911. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Were these people murdered on the trail or simply killed elsewhere and bodies dumped on the trail? Give all the known facts before alarming everyone in NC who reads the posts. Were victims young/old? how dressed? shot? stabbed? external wounds? yada…yada…yada.
Response:
A gun is nice to have in bear country. Sounds like it’s a necessity in felon country. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Two campers were found shot to death Sunday morning near a popular hiking trail in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area in northern Burke County.
Response:
Just saw on the news here in Charlotte that 2 people, a man and a woman were found murdered in the Linville Gorge in Burke Co. NC. The people were located on off the Spence Ridge Trail leading down to the Gorge. The person(s) responsible for this horrible act have yet to be caught. I’m guessing it’s Eric Robert Rudolph.
Is the news true? Does anyone have any additional details? Though Rudolph is allegedly a crafty character, I wonder if he could have made it all the way up to Linville from the Nantahala forest–aren’t the 2 places rather far apart? Rob
Response:
This came to my attention this morning via a brief report in the News and Observer (Raleigh) (http://www.news-observer.com/ and click on NC followed by NC briefs). The Winston-Salem newspaper carried the same article, according to which two campers, a man and woman in their 20s or 30s, were found shot dead at their campsite off the Spence Ridge trail on the eastern side of the Linville gorge. A suspect (the grounds for suspiscion were not provided) was recently charged in a case involving the theft of a vehicle with weapons. That’s most of the information provided by the local paper. I cannot find any online versions of the Asheville paper or any others from closer to the region.
I looked too. Could not find ANY online info on this except here. I would like to know more as well as I hope to take some trips to that area soon.
I have backpacked extensively and frequently in the Wilson Creek/Linville Gorge area. On two occasions, I returned to my vehicle to find it had been broken into, once by thieves who took hundreds of dollars worth of spare equipment, and the next time the car was just vandalized (probably because I was smart enough no to leave anything valuable in it). The really cruddy thing is that the police in the area were totally lackadaisical about it and admitted that they knew that a gang of "local boys" was responsible. They even knew who they were, but said they "couldn’t prove nothin", even though the men had committed hundreds of break-ins of hiker’s cars. The police also failed to return several phone calls from me in later weeks asking for a copy of the police report for my insurance, and as a result, my claim was denied due to lack of police report verifiying my claim of being robbed. I have never seen any creeps out there, but the area is really red-necky. I am going on a 3-day trip there later this month, and plan to bring my lightweight pistol for protection (we also hike with 2 dogs, who are excellent protection and watch dogs). My first camping experiences in the mountains of NC (in the Wilson creek area) yielded bullet casings, broken bottles and odd nocturnal noises from campers up the road somewhere. This was off a pretty remote forest road and was somewhat unsettling. So this type of news is pretty unwelcome.
I’d still go if I were you. It’s a beautiful, wild place to be. Just be watchful, don’t leave any valuables in your car (leave it empty and unlocked), and be sure you are confident about your ability to defend yourself, either with a dog, your bare hands or a gun. Also, avoid campsites that are an easy walk in from the road. Those attract local partyers.
Response:
I’m guessing it’s Eric Robert Rudolph.
I would be more willing to bet it is not, lots of armed federales roaming around there.
Response:
Were these people murdered on the trail or simply killed elsewhere and bodies dumped on the trail? Give all the known facts before alarming everyone in NC who reads the posts. Were victims young/old? how dressed? shot? stabbed? external wounds? yada…yada…yada.
This came to my attention this morning via a brief report in the News and Observer (Raleigh) (http://www.news-observer.com/ and click on NC followed by NC briefs). The Winston-Salem newspaper carried the same article, according to which two campers, a man and woman in their 20s or 30s, were found shot dead at their campsite off the Spence Ridge trail on the eastern side of the Linville gorge. A suspect (the grounds for suspiscion were not provided) was recently charged in a case involving the theft of a vehicle with weapons. That’s most of the information provided by the local paper. I cannot find any online versions of the Asheville paper or any others from closer to the region. I would like to know more as well as I hope to take some trips to that area soon. Most of my outdoor activity has been in the western parts of the US (Texas, New Mexico and Colorado) where it is easier to get further away from cities, roads etc… My first camping experiences in the mountains of NC (in the Wilson creek area) yielded bullet casings, broken bottles and odd nocturnal noises from campers up the road somewhere. This was off a pretty remote forest road and was somewhat unsettling. So this type of news is pretty unwelcome. David Collins
Response:
Were these people murdered on the trail or simply killed elsewhere and bodies dumped on the trail? Give all the known facts before alarming everyone in NC who reads the posts. Were victims young/old? how dressed? shot? stabbed? external wounds? yada…yada…yada.
This from the Charlotte Observer: Two campers were found shot to death Sunday morning near a popular hiking trail in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area in northern Burke County. The Burke County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous call around noon Sunday that two people appeared to have been shot at a campsite. When police and rescue workers arrived, they found two people dead. The victims, who had not been identified late Sunday, were a white man and white woman who appeared to be in their 20s, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators have identified a suspect but they were unsure of a motive for the killings Sunday. The bodies were found about 20 or 30 minutes down Spence Ridge trail, a steep, narrow foot path that leads to the Linville River. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the deaths with the help of the State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Forest Service. The Linville Gorge Wilderness Area is composed of 12,000 acres owned by the U.S. Forest Service. It attracts 34,000 visitations a year. The Spence Ridge trail is the area’s commonly used eastern access near N.C. 181. Late Sunday, the Sheriff’s Office identified a suspect: James Andrew Finley Jr., 21, of Hickory. Finley is a white man, 6 feet 3 inches tall, 175 pounds, with reddish blond hair and blue eyes and an Uncle Sam tattoo on his left shoulder. The Sheriff’s Office said Finley is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (828) 438-5500 or call 911.
Response:
I’m betting it was mountain bikers! Sorry, couldn’t resist. Woof
Response:
Just saw on the news here in Charlotte that 2 people, a man and a woman were found murdered in the Linville Gorge in Burke Co. NC. The people were located on off the Spence Ridge Trail leading down to the Gorge. The person(s) responsible for this horrible act have yet to be caught.
I’m guessing it’s Eric Robert Rudolph.
Response:
Just saw on the news here in Charlotte that 2 people, a man and a woman were found murdered in the Linville Gorge in Burke Co. NC. The people were located on off the Spence Ridge Trail leading down to the Gorge. The person(s) responsible for this horrible act have yet to be caught.
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