Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers $1,000 reward for information on vandalism

Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers $1,000 reward for information on vandalism

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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On January 31st, Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitors reported the defacement of natural stone features and masonry stone walls at the Sinks. The Sinks is a popular roadside waterfall located on Little River Road between Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area and the Townsend Wye. Vandals spray painted pictures and profanity along the walkways, stone walls, and natural rock throughout the area.

"This was not a minor act of tagging by someone with a can of spray paint," said Chief Ranger Clay Jordan. "The amount of damage maliciously caused to this beautiful setting is disheartening." As such, Jordan announced that the Park is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals responsible for this vandalism. Rangers report that the graffiti includes references to "Wolfgang" and "Lumberjack".

In 2010, the Park renovated the Sinks parking area including the construction of new stone masonry retaining walls, cut-stone walkways, and a new overlook area with a masonry wall and handrail so that all visitors, including the disabled, are able to safely view the waterfall and rapids. The Sinks is a popular destination for visitors throughout the year who stop to view the 15-foot cascade. Park employees spent several hours removing the offensive language and images using a variety of techniques to remove the paint without causing further resource damage.

It is unlawful to disturb or deface natural and historic resources within the Park. Perpetrators may be sentenced up to 6 months in jail and or fined up to $5,000. Anyone with information as to the possible identity of the vandals is encouraged to call the tip hotline at 865-436-1580.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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FBI offers $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the death of A.T. hiker Scott Lilly

FBI offers $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the death of A.T. hiker Scott Lilly

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

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More details emerge on the murder of Scott Lilly on the A.T. in Virginia last summer. The following was released by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy this afternoon:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever killed Scott A. Lilly, 30, of South Bend, Ind., last summer near the Appalachian Trail in central Virginia.

FBI Special Agent Steve Duenas, the lead investigator, also disclosed at a news conference April 23 that Lilly “was buried.” Hikers found his “partially buried” body August 12, another agent said, along a side trail to Cow Camp Gap Shelter in George Washington–Jefferson National Forest in Amherst County, almost five miles north of the U.S. 60 Trailhead.

Duenas said Lilly’s last known contact was from the shelter July 31. He was not identified until August 16. That shelter is about 0.6 mile east of the A.T. along the Old Hotel Trail, which loops around and rejoins the A.T. again about two miles north.

A state medical examiner in January ruled the death a homicide and said the cause was “asphyxia by suffocation,” noted Mike Morehart, special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Richmond office, who announced the reward.

Most of Lilly’s gear has not been recovered, he said, including new trail shoes (Walmart’s Ozark Trail brand), blue or purple backpack, a Nintendo game, and “an A.T. handbook.”

Lilly used the Trail name “Stonewall.” He had begun hiking south from Maryland in late June, intending to go all the way to Springer Mountain, resupplying periodically through Walmart gift cards sent by his mother, according to his family.

Lilly’s younger sister, Alysen, joined Sheriff L.J. “Jimmy” Ayers III in urging anyone with information to call the FBI tip line at (800) 261-1044.

“He was a 30-year-old man living out a dream by hiking the A.T. and visiting Civil War battlefields…. Our family will never be the same. We need closure,” she said, telling reporters later that she thought he planned to find a new place to live in the South after his hike.

Ayers said, “Any information, even if it seems trivial, may be the piece that solves the puzzle.”

Morehart said the combined investigative team—including National Park Service A.T. rangers, U.S. Forest Service law-enforcement officers, and Virginia State Police—has conducted 83 interviews of hikers, maintainers, and others, “in multiple states and two other countries,” including all long-distance hikers known to have been in the area in that time period.

Timothy J. Heaphy, U.S. attorney for the western district of Virginia, noting ATC’s involvement as well, said that “the level of cooperation on this case…is remarkable.” He stressed that his office is placing a high priority on this open case, as well as “unsolved murders” along the Blue Ridge Parkway and a 1996 killing of two women hikers away from the Trail in Shenandoah National Park, but right now he has seen no connection among them.

Duenas, declining to provide more specifics about the coroner’s report or the “many possibilities” being investigated, said the reward announcement and news conference “are part of the investigative strategy—to generate more leads,” particularly from 2011 hikers who might not have seen last August’s news reports and from 2012 hikers noticing something unusual. “I have no reason to believe the Trail is any more dangerous. Hikers just have to be aware and take all the normal precautions."


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Mammoth Cave offers reward to stop crime

Mammoth Cave offers reward to stop crime

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

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Do you have information that could help stop a crime in Mammoth Cave National Park? Park rangers have set up a reward program, up to $1,000, for information that will lead to a successful prosecution.

"The park is a quiet sanctuary, but our law enforcement rangers face the same crimes that city and county officers do," said Superintendent Patrick Reed. "We are asking our neighbors' to help us keep Mammoth Cave a safe place by reporting any kind of illegal or suspicious activity."

"Drug activity is a major concern," said Ranger David Alexander, one of the park law enforcement officers. "Every year we find marijuana plots in the park. We need the community's help in tracking down the growers. Drugs produced inside the park or in rural Kentucky are the same ones showing-up in schools and on the streets in our communities. Even the slightest tip could be an asset to help us prosecute a criminal."

To contact Ranger Alexander, call 270-758-2122 or 270-646-7241. Information provided will be kept in strictest confidence and those calling may choose to remain anonymous.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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