Posted on 01/06/2008 6:32:45 AM PST by Scoutmaster
Police believe missing hiker Meredith Emerson is dead after finding her blood-soaked clothing Saturday in a dumpster.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsbtv.com ...
Yes...you have to register in the smokies and stay in assigned shelters...many thru-hikers hate all the rules but they understand the amount of people that will be on the trails...if they didn’t do this and patrol it...well there would be tents and trash everywhere in the park...it’s understandable.
In my honest opinion...if you are not hiking alone, i wouldn’t worry too much....if you are with a group of people it is highly unlikely a predator would bother...if you are alone, you take your chances....even carrying a gun in your pocket, i could see all kinds of situations where you wouldn’t have a chance to even pull it....i believe this guy gained this girl’s trust because he had a dog out hiking with him also...she turned for a second and wham...hiking stick up side the head.
Sounds callous but it could have been simple as that.
You're right.
The first thing that happened was police announced they were looking for a "person of interest." They gave a description of the man, his yellow coat and black backpack based on several witnesses who had seen her between 3 and 5 p.m. on New Years' Day. At least one witness also described his dog and remembered its name.
Based on the dog and its name, and the description of the man, police received tips giving the man's name.
The "person of interest" announcements then identified him and gave the license plate numbers of his two white vans yesterday afternoon.
The police received two calls yesterday evening about 7:40 p.m., one from a Starbucks, saying that one of his vans had been spotted. The police found him by 8:00 p.m.
For those not playing along, blueheron2 is talking about Tara Grinstead, the South Georgia teacher missing since October 2005.
Dateline did a story about her disappearance.
Suspects include or included her former boyfriend (ex-police, ex-Ranger), a married policeman from another county (who visited her at her school a day or two before she disappeared -- a visit that upset her enough that she left school and went home), and a 20-year old former student who was stalking her.
The area being searched is about 350 square miles of swamp, woods, lakes, and wells.
My wife and I hike a lot in the area where the Bryants were murdered. There are an awfully lot of remote places out there where skulduggery would be extremely easy. Also, there are Wiccans, Satanists and druggies who hang around in these woods for their own various reasons - none of them wholesome. We completely avoid the area in the days around Halloween (we have seen clear evidence of rites).
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I would be less afraid of a wiccan or even pagan rite as opposed to satanist or some pervert.
Absolutely. Wiccans harm no one.
Satanists and druggies are a different animal entirely.
Never never hike alone. And even when going in in small groups make a plan, mark a map, and leave it with the rangers at the ranger station with your in and out plans. That way, if you dont show up on time, they automatically launch a search.
When we hike, at least two of us pack heavy hitting handguns. They are in our packs, but readily avaliable, only to be revealed in case of emergency. Screw the laws, I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
Roses, you have said a truth. When I was a boy, I and my friends roamed the woods and wilderness without fear. We were respectful of the woods and of the wildlife that lived there and considered ourselves almost at home there. When I read stories such as this one, I wonder why we have allowed this human pollution to destroy the best places of our times and our hearts. This fellow who has been arrested in this case with substantial circumstatial evidence against him needs to answer questions. And he needs to answer them now! And if he refuses, he needs to be made to answer them!
That’s where I am. I just don’t have an actual dock in the mud. I have to drive to the mud.
If you are hiking on either NC State land or National Forest lands (such as Pisgah) in NC, you are not supposed to carry a concealed handgun because of NC state law (even with a CCW). Nor is one allowed to carry a large caliber handgun open carry or a rifle unless it is hunting season (and then there are specific "rules").
You may, however, open carry a .22 pistol with a barrel less than 7.5 inches (the law refers to it as a "camp gun") at any time on either State or National Forest lands even if not hunting and without a hunting license. These are rather "old" laws but have been held over probably to prohibit poaching in The King's Forest.
However, I don't think one can legally carry in the Smoky Mountain National Park, because it is a "National Park" and the rules are different (and much more restrictive). You also want to beware "carry" on the Blue Ridge Parkway as it is also National Park Land.
A Ruger Mark II/III or Ruger .22/.45 fits the bill nicely and is a fairly inexpensive option but almost any shorter barreled .22 carried openly should do. I know it's not a lot of firepower, but it is comforting and I am of the opinion it is a deterrent to somebody bent on random mischief.
Of course, I know some people also carry concealed, but you asked for legal options. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn last night.
Agreed.
My best friend is Smith & Wesson.
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