Shooting Suspect Dies in Jail; Info from Hikers Still Sought

(May 14, 2008)—Randall Lee Smith, Jr., charged with attempted murder in the May 6 shootings of two fishermen at a campsite a half-mile from the Appalachian Trail in southwest Virginia, was found dead in his jail cell May 10, about 24 hours after his release from a Roanoke hospital. He had been injured when he crashed a truck stolen from one of the fishermen during pursuit by Virginia State Police the night of the 6th, but the cause of death has not been determined.

Randall Lee Smith, Jr.

Photo of Randall Lee Smith taken after his release from the hospital on May 9. Photo credit: Roanoke Times

Smith's dog, Bo

Despite his death and the recuperation of both other men, federal authorities with law-enforcement responsibility for the Trail continue to seek information from hikers, Trail maintainers, and others about Smith’s whereabouts from early March on.

Smith pleaded guilty in 1982 to the May 1981 murders of two A.T. hikers at a shelter about two miles by trails from this latest incident, which occurred along a back road north of Va. 606. State law at the time required his release from prison in September 1996 (to his home near the Trail west of Pearisburg), and his parole restrictions expired in late 2006. Neighbors told news reporters he had not been home since early March.

In the May 6 shooting, Smith approached, and shared dinner with, two fishermen camped on national-forest land along Dismal Creek, below and west of the Trail. As he got up to leave, he started shooting, they told police. The men were able to get to one of their vehicles and get help at a nearby house.

The shootings and the identification of Smith as the suspect led to a 36-hour closure of 24 miles of the A.T., from Va. 606 north to Va. 100 near the New River at Pearisburg. National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service rangers swept the Trail, and they and other officers interviewed hikers at road crossings. Appalachian Trail Conservancy employees and Trail neighbors provided information, shuttles, and free camping during the shutdown, and the section was reopened when it was deemed safe for hiking. No hikers have been reported missing in this area.

Photographs of Smith—from a “missing” poster circulated locally April 30 that the shooting victims recognized and from when he was charged May 9—are below, along with a picture of his dog, “Bo.” Hikers and others, such as Trail maintainers, who were in this area during March–April and encountered them are urged to contact the Giles County sheriff’s office (540-921-3842) or incident@appalachiantrail.org with relevant information.

Guidance for safety while hiking the A.T. can be found in the health and safety section of Hike the Trail.