Walking Stick +1 James Bondsteel 0

LARIMER COUNTY – A little over a week ago, two sisters-in-law were out on a hike along Signal Mountain Trail near the Comanche Peak Wilderness Area. As they were walking, A man wearing gray camouflage clothing and a face mask jumped out of the woods attacked them at knifepoint. “An assailant surprised them – jumped out from behind some trees and put a knife to one of the victim’s throats,” Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said at a news conference on Monday. “It was obvious from the statements that he made as well as from his actions that he intended on committing a sexual assault.” One of the women used her walking stick strike her friend’s attacker. When he turned on her, the other woman attacked him. The man then ran off. Roadblocks were set up and police began searching for the assailant reporting they had a person of interest that night. That person has now been arrested and identified as 38-year-old James Jud Bondsteel of Loveland. [Read more...]

Meredith Emerson Is Missing At Blood Mountain

Georgia - This one isn’t looking too good. Meredith Emerson, 24, was last seen when she took her dog for a hike on New Years Day. Authorities were notified when Emerson failed to show up for work. Her 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier was found early Wednesday at a trail head at the foot of Blood Mountain, a part of Georgia’s section of the Appalachian Trail. A dog’s leash, water bottle, and pair of sunglasses were found near near the car. [Read more...]

Irene Bryant Murdered, John Bryant Missing

Held off on this one, as I wasn’t sure where it was headed. But since this is now a homicide investigation, I figured we should get this posted.

HORSE SHOE — Bob Bryant alerted authorities that his parents Irene, 84, and John, 79, had not come back from a hiking trip in the Pisgah National Forest. Crews worked for three days before finding the body of Irene Bryant, 84, partially covered by leaves about 25 yards from their vehicle. A medical examiner later found Bryant had been killed from blunt force trauma to the head. The couple’s bank card had been used to withdraw $300 from an ATM in Ducktown, Tenn and photos taken from bank surveillance cameras show a person wearing a yellow rain jacket withdrawing money at 7:35 p.m. The hood of the rain jacket obscures the person’s identity. Initially thought to be a missing hikers case, the search efforts first used dogs that are not trained to search for dead bodies. Because of the three-week lag to the massive search area and the two-state crime scene authorties haven’t had any luck in the case.

Here is the timeline of events so far: [Read more...]