[at-l] Stonewall death investigation status

[RockDancer]

This is from the Lynchburg, VA News & Advance site
(http://www2.newsadvance.com/). There's not much new in the story except why
hikers were sought by the FBI. All the hikers have been contacted so none of
them are persons of interest. In a way I find some comfort in this bit of
news. --RockDancer

Hiker's death a mystery, two months after body found

Two months after the body of a hiker was found near the Appalachian Trail
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/facility/tags/appalachian-trail/>
in Amherst County
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/provinceorstate/tags/amherst-count
y/> , the FBI
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/organization/tags/federal-bureau-o
f-investigation/>  continues to release little information about the case.

Hikers found the remains on Aug. 12 just off the trail in the Mount Pleasant
National Scenic Area north of U.S.
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/country/tags/united-states/>  60
and east of the Blue Ridge Parkway. He was identified by the FBI
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/organization/tags/federal-bureau-o
f-investigation/>  as Scott Lilly
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/person/tags/scott-lilly/> , of
South Bend <http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/city/tags/south-bend/>
, Ind.
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/provinceorstate/tags/indiana/>  An
obituary published in the South Bend Tribune
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/publishedmedium/tags/the-south-ben
d-tribune/>  listed his age as 30.

The FBI
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/organization/tags/federal-bureau-o
f-investigation/>  has said the circumstances of his death are suspicious,
but have not revealed why.

The cause and manner of his death remain undetermined by the Office of the
Chief Medical Examiner
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/organization/tags/office-of-the-ch
ief-medical-examiner/>  in Roanoke. Autopsy results are unfinished pending
the results of further toxicological testing, District Administrator
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/position/tags/district-administrat
or/>  Tracie Cooper
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/person/tags/tracie-cooper/>  said.

In early September, investigators put out a plea for information about five
hikers identified only by their trail names - monikers often adopted on the
Appalachian Trail
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/facility/tags/appalachian-trail/>
by long-distance hikers. Those hikers have all been identified, FBI
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/organization/tags/federal-bureau-o
f-investigation/>  spokeswoman
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/position/tags/spokeswoman/>  Dee
Rybiski <http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/person/tags/dee-rybiski/>
said Wednesday.

"We continue to get leads in on this case," Rybiski
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/person/tags/dee-rybiski/>  wrote
in an email. "Those identified in the release were not suspects or persons
of interest. (They were) simply persons who, through investigation, were
believed to be able to provide crucial information to assist authorities in
filling in some blanks."

Several of those hikers named in the September release have commented in
Internet hiking forums that they were contacted because they made entries in
journals kept in the shelters that dot the trail. Those entries, they said,
led investigators to believe they were near Lilly
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/person/tags/scott-lilly/>  on his
journey.

Other hikers who have provided information to investigators, and
subsequently to The News & Advance, have said Lilly
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/person/tags/scott-lilly/>  was
camping near The Priest
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/position/tags/priest/>  in late
July around the time he was last heard from by his family. He was reported
to be by himself, carrying a lot of gear.

The 4,000-foot mountain rises south of the Tye River
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/naturalfeature/tags/tye-river/> ,
a day or two on foot north of where Lilly's body was discovered.

FBI
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/organization/tags/federal-bureau-o
f-investigation/>  representatives have said they do not have information
that would lead them to believe other hikers would be targeted. They have
advised hikers to take the same common-sense precautions against crime as
they would any other time.

Investigators have asked anyone with information about Lilly
<http://www2.newsadvance.com/topics/types/person/tags/scott-lilly/> , who
went by the trail name "Stonewall," to call (800) 225-5324, option No. 4.

 

 

Arthur D. Gaudet

RockDancer on the Appalachian Trail

Rockdancer97 at comcast.net

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://patsy.hack.net/pipermail/at-l/attachments/20111013/466ccfd3/attachment.html