Massachusetts man charged in deadly attack on Appalachian Trail hikers

quote:

---

A Massachusetts man faces federal charges in the brutal attack Saturday on two Appalachian Trail hikers that left a man dead and a woman hospitalized with severe stab wounds, Virginia authorities said Sunday.

James Louis Jordan, 30, was arrested early Saturday after Wythe County, Va., sheriff’s deputies located him along the trail in southwestern Virginia by tracking an SOS signal triggered by one of the victims, officials said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia said in a statement Sunday that Jordan, of West Yarmouth, Mass., is charged with murder and assault with intent to murder in connection with the attack. Jordan is scheduled to appear in court in Abingdon, Va., on Monday.

---

quote:

---

The Wythe County Sheriff’s Office tactical team traveled four miles into the woods to locate the wounded man’s SOS signal. They initially came across walkers who described a knife-wielding man known as “Sovereign” who roamed the trail with a dog.

While authorities were talking to the group, a dog ambled over to the camp. Deputies followed the animal, who led them back to Jordan, and he was taken into custody without incident. Investigators later found a 20-inch knife nearby along the trail and soon discovered the male victim.

Jordan, who authorities said they think is “Sovereign,” was well known to the community of hikers on the trail. Recent news reports of incidents in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia describe a man threatening and chasing other hikers with a machete or large knife.

---