Hikers Take the Appalachian Trail to escape the real world. This time they could not.



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Hikers who met with Jordan prior to Saturday's attack said they feared for their safety.

Mr. Bolek said he had met "five or ten times" for several weeks, including a clash at the end of April in a South Tennessee shelter overflowing with campers soon after the authorities from Tennessee have released it.

"It was just strange and erratic behavior," he said. "He had a dog bowl and accused us of stealing it from him. He started screaming at us and I said, "Hey, we know who you are. We are not looking for problems. We do not have your bowl. Just go back to your campsite and be on your way.

"I felt that the threat of violence was not far away," he said. "I stayed awake half the night at the campfire, assuring myself that he would not come back."

A few days later, Mr. Jordan was evicted from a hotel in Roan Mountain, Tennessee, after insisting that he was "the guardian of the trail" and controlled the access said Madeline Gossee, a Canadian hiker named "Pit Stop" trail. He behaved erratically, she said, but "did not seem so dangerous."

The authorities said last weekend, less than two weeks later, a hiker sent a distress signal to his mobile phone after being stabbed. Her partner lost her life after being stabbed, then walked for six miles, assisted by other hikers, before being treated. Two other hikers called 911 early Saturday after being pulled out of their tents and fleeing a man who threatened to burn them.

On Monday, Jordan was charged in federal court with a murderer and a chief of assault with intent to murder, the US Attorney's Office in the Western District of Virginia said. Mr. Jordan did not plead, said Brian McGinn, a spokesman for the office.

Dennis Conroy, his owner, aged 69, announced that he had just welcomed hikers who wanted to stop at least briefly to review their plans. "They are worried and get off the track," he said. "Others just walk. Most are not concerned, but you never know. "

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