In the spring of 1981, a journey of purpose and compassion took a tragic turn in the serene woods of Virginia. Robert Tatton Mountford, Jr., a 27-year-old white male and a dedicated social worker from Ellsworth, Maine, embarked on a noble mission. He, along with his companion Laura Susan Ramsay, also a 27-year-old social worker, was hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise funds for a school for children with intellectual disabilities in their home state. Their hopeful trek through the scenic landscape near Pearisburg, Virginia, was brutally cut short on May 20, 1981.
The pair was viciously attacked near the Wapiti Shelter along Dismal Creek. Mountford was shot three times in the head, while Ramsay was stabbed more than a dozen times. Their bodies were discovered almost two weeks after they were reported missing, concealed in shallow, leaf-covered graves about 75 yards from the shelter where they had likely planned to spend the night. The shocking discovery of the double homicide sent waves of fear through the hiking community, as it was the first such incident on the trail in six years.
The investigation quickly focused on a local man, Randall Lee Smith, then 27, of Pearisburg. Other hikers reported seeing a man fitting his description acting strangely in the area around the time of the murders. A significant breakthrough came when Smith's abandoned pickup truck was found in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Inside the truck, investigators discovered a rambling and incriminating note. The note contained chilling words: 'This boy and girl have been so nice to me. .. it is going to be a real shame when the time comes to get rid of them,' and concluded with, 'I will be far away before truck and those people are found.' Further evidence, including blood-stained clothes found soaking at Smith's home, solidified the case against him.
Approximately two weeks after the murders, a team of police officers and FBI agents apprehended Randall Lee Smith in a wooded area of Myrtle Beach. In 1982, just before his case was set to go to trial, Smith entered into a controversial plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and received two concurrent 15-year sentences. This plea deal was met with frustration by the victims' families, who were told Smith would serve a minimum of seven and a half years. Smith was released from prison after serving 15 years and returned to Pearisburg, where he lived until his death in 2008.
