Posted on 05/12/2019 2:02:24 PM PDT by buckalfa
WYTHE COUNTY, Va. - One of the two victims in Saturday morning’s machete attack on the Appalachian Trail has died and law enforcement has now named the suspect under arrest.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said Sunday that 30-year-old James Jordan was arrested in the early morning hours Saturday. He faces federal charges that include murder and assault with the intent to murder.
The spokesman said Sunday that one of the victims has died. 10 News previously reported that investigators said one of the victims, a female, was expected to survive the attack, while the condition of the other, a male, was unknown.
The investigation is ongoing, the spokesman said.
Jordan is scheduled to have an initial appearance in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia, Monday morning.
“I commend local law enforcement in Wythe and Smyth Counties for mobilizing successful rescue and tactical operations in this remote region,” U.S. Attorney Cullen said in a statement. “Thanks to their efforts, the suspect was safely apprehended and a seriously wounded victim received critical medical care.”
Jordan is from West Yarmouth, Massachusetts.
As 10 News has previously reported, investigators said Saturday that the suspect attacked a man and a woman with a machete while they two were hiking together on the Appalachian Trail near Crawfish Road.
Wythe County Sheriff Keith Dunagan told 10 News investigators are still searching the trail, worried that there may be more victims.
Jordan faced charges after a separate altercation on the Appalachian Trail in April, during which he threatened hikers in North Carolina and Tennessee. He is also known by his trail name “Sovereign.”
Original story: Two people were assaulted on the Appalachian Trail early Saturday morning, according to Wythe County Sheriff Keith Dunagan, who told 10 News one person is in custody. That suspect is now facing federal charges.
Investigators say the suspect attacked a man and a woman with a machete, while they were hiking together on the trail near Crawfish Road. Dunagan said the female victim will survive the attack. Law enforcement could not comment on the condition of the male victim.
Between 3:30 and 4 a.m. Saturday, Wythe County deputies were alerted about a man threatening Appalachian Trail hikers. Two hikers reported to the Bland County Sheriff's Office that there was a man with a machete assaulting people on the trail in Wythe County.
The male victim was found in Wythe County using GPS technology, after he sent out an emergency notification on his cellphone.
"They pinged it on the Wythe County side of the trail. So, the phone company notified us and that's when we went up there and found the suspect and the victim," Dunagan said. "We had our whole [tactical] team out there, so he wisely just surrendered himself."
Deputies found a machete on the trail that they believe the supsect was using.
Dunagan said the female victim was found in Smyth County after walking six miles -- injured and bleeding-- before finding a couple of hikers and calling for help.
The suspect was taken to a jail in Wythe County. Saturday evening, he was then transported by federal authorities to a jail cell in Washington County.
The sheriff's office would not release the suspect's name. However, the sheriff tells NBC affiliate WCYB in Bristol, Va. that this attack is connected to another altercation on the Appalachian Trail in April.
In that incident, James Jordan, 30, was charged with criminal impersonation and drug possession after police say he threatened other hikers on the trail in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Jordan, also known by his trail name 'Sovereign,' was released from jail, put on probation and ordered to pay fines.
Dunagan described the incident as "isolated." However, investigators worry there may be more victims and are searching the trail.
Virginia State Police confirmed to 10 News that troopers have assisted in the investigation. The U.S. Forest Service and FBI are also assisting.
U.S. Forest Service officials said about 18 miles of the Appalachian Trail is expected to remain closed on the Smyth and Bland County ends coming into Wythe until 6 a.m. Sunday.
The closure is about from the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area office to the Eastern Divide Ranger District boundary.
The section of the Appalachian Trail that runs through Wythe County is about a mile long and is located in the west region of the county.
This lunatic was detained a couple of weeks ago.
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article229620344.html
This is what results from letting psychos run the streets.
Years back, this fool would have been locked in a padded cell. Then do-gooders decided that it was better for lunatics to roam the streets. This is what happens.
We need to bring back asylums.
This deranged pot head has a history of strange actions. So pot makes you mellow?
Sovereign Citizen. The worst scum of the earth
We need to bring back asylums.
Always pack a pistol , and wear it in a belt or shoulder rig , when you go hiking . You never know . Bear ? Cougar ? Insane killer? You have a right to defend yourself . Regardless of what the laws may say about ‘packing’ .
I have a friend who's out there somewhere this year, hiking the whole Appalachian Trail is his goal for the summer.
RIP.
“Always pack a pistol ,.....”
My very same thought.
I was hiking this past week in the Shenandoah (Page county)...a little on the AT...carrying too. ;-)
Absolutely. I am planning to do the AT. I’ve hiked in many parts of the world and love it, and while you have to be careful and observant, generally it’s safe.
But I think in terms of nutcases, the AT has got it cornered. A lot of these people with their “trail names” are basically nothing but people who should be in mental hospitals. I have met many normal, real hikers who have felt very threatened by some of their encounters with these people. This is not the first murder on the AT, btw.
Does the government subsidize Titanium guns yet?
Forget gun control...those kids who shoot up schools are all NUTS and should have been institutionalized even before they managed to reach their teens.
And then there are all of the druggies, who are insane as well, who infest major cities and destroy vast areas in them. Pick them up and stick them in asylums too!
And just those 2 things would make everyone's lives a whole lot better! The damned "bleeding hearts" ALWAYS make things worse.
AMEN!
SPOT ON!
This is peak travel time for through hikers headed north in that section of the AT.
Not a “sovereign citizen” just a drugged out lunatic. His trail name was “sovereign.” Lots of folks on the AT have trail names.
Is that a puffy shirt he has on or is that the new prison garb?
On Tuesday, deputies arrested a suspect, who was identified by TV station WLOS as 30-year-old James Jordan of Massachusetts …Hensley said on Facebook that department and the U.S. Forest Service had received several calls from hikers about a man calling himself “Sovereign,” who threatened them on the trail head at Devils Fork.
The man had a pit bull with him and was “armed with a knife and machete” …
“This person... ran hikers out of shelters with a shovel,” said Hensley on Facebook. “Yesterday (Tuesday) he brandished a knife and machete and stated it was going to be a bad day for hikers.”
OK then, a yankee goodwill ambassador from Assholechusetts.
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