Hi, park enthusiasts. I'm your host, Dillia Diambra. And the story I'm going to tell you about today is harrowing.

It takes place along Dismal Creek, which intersects with a portion of the Appalachian Trail on the border of Virginia and West Virginia.

In that area is the AT's Wapity Shelter, a small wooden structure that's widely used as a camping

spot by hikers traversing the famous trail. It's technically located in Giles County, Virginia,

but we're not talking about a place that's a hop skip and a jump from the nearest town or anything.

It's out there, in thick woods, intentionally placed in a remote location, but easily accessible

to hikers wanting to take a rest.

The National Park Service's website for the AT warns that enjoying the trail and all its beauty

requires visitors to have a certain level of vigilance and awareness of the terrain and

people around them.

The 2,000-mile-plus trail is generally considered safe,

but as you all know from previous cases I've covered on this show,

it has seen its fair share of violent crime over the years.

An NPS warning online states, quote,

acts of kindness and trail magic are so common on the AT

that it's easy to forget you could encounter someone who does not have your best interest at heart, or who may even seek to harm you.

This is more likely to occur near roads or occasionally at shelters, but it can happen anywhere, end quote.

And I can't think of a truer example of that reality taking form than the cases I'm going

to discuss in this episode.

Because you see, a human predator roaming this particular section of the AT didn't just attack

two unsuspecting victims.

He went after four people.

...