Appalachian Trail killer suspect in Giles Co. double shooting

Updated 7:34 p.m.

By Rosa Duarte
rduarte@wsls.com

The man convicted of murdering a couple on the Appalachian Trail nearly 30 years ago is suspected of trying to kill again.
54 year old Randall Smith of Pearisburg was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to two 15 year terms for the deaths of two hikers in May 1981. Department of Corrections records show Smith got out of prison and was put on probation in 1996.
Investigators say his probation ended in 2006 and Smith had no run-ins with the law.
Now, after serving his time Giles County investigators say Smith tried to kill two young men in the same area of Dismal Creek Tuesday night.
The victims told investigators they met Smith earlier in the day and befriended him, Smith even sat down and had dinner with them at their campsite.
Later that evening, investigators say Smith “jumped up and just started shooting at them”.
One of the men was shot three times in the neck, the other was shot in the face and chest.
The victims told investigators Smith stole one of their vehicles which he later wrecked in Giles County, Smith was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Amazingly, the two men managed to drive down the mountain in the remaining vehicle from their campsite to the closest home.
Sisters Sheila and Melissa Miller who were familiar with one of the victims say they immediately called 911 and took care of the men until paramedics arrived 45 minutes later.
According to the sisters, the two men were Sean Farmer of Tazewell and Scott Johnston of Bluefield Virginia.
A spokesman with Carilion Roanoke Memorial says Johnston is listed in serious but stable condition and is not releasing the condition of Smith whom investigators say is on a respirator, Farmer was released on Wednesday.
The Appalachian Trail has been closed between Route 606 in Bland County to Route 460 in Giles County. Investigators with the Forest Service are searching for any other potential victims.
In the meantime, members of the Giles County Sheriff’s office are looking for motive and because of Smith’s condition have not been able to get a statement from him.
However there are comparisons with the 1981 murders. Investigators say the campsite is less than 3 miles away from where the murders took place on the same road. Both crimes also happened in the first part of May.
Investigators add Smith had been listed as a Missing Person just last week after neighbors noticed they hadn’t seen him in over a month.
Ron Hamlin with the Giles County Sheriff’s Office says after searching Smith’s home they determined he’d been gone since March 4th, his dog was missing and his truck was left parked in the driveway.
Investigators had posted flyers of Smith throughout the area including locations on the Appalachian Trail for hikers. Hamlin says Smith was listed as a missing person not a wanted person and they wanted him to be “checked for well being only”.

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Updated 4:29 p.m.

The Department of Corrections says Smith was parolled in September of 1996. That's 16 years before his 30 year sentence was to end for the Appalachian Trail murders in 1981 that he pleaded guilty to in 1982.

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Updated 3:29 p.m.

Giles County investigators tell 10 On Your Side's Rosa Duarte that Randall Smith is their main suspect a double shooting Tuesday night near the Giles County and Bland County line.

Officers say Smith went missing back in March, and they put Smith on a missing persons watch list.

Then investigators think Smith befriended two men at a campsite near Dismal Falls, then shot the men. Officers believe Smith shot one man several times in the neck, and the other in the head. Detectives think Smith then stole one of their cars, drove it into Giles County, then crashed it. Smith is now on a respirator at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

While Smith drove off, investigators say the two men who were shot got in the second car at the campsite, and drove to a house in Bland County to get help. Both men are still alive.

Investigators say Smith served his time for the original killings, and had not been in trouble since.

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A Giles County man who served time for killing two Appalachian Trail hikers in the 1980s is apparently the suspect in a Tuesday night double shooting near the Bland/Giles line, according to a police source.

Randall Lee Smith was airlifted to a Roanoke hospital after wrecking one of the victim’s vehicles, the source said.

The shooting, which is being investigated by the Giles County Sheriff’s Office, apparently occurred at a Jefferson National Forest campsite near Dismal Falls.

Giles County authorities confirmed the shooting on Wednesday morning and said a suspect had been caught but wouldn’t provide any more information about the ongoing investigation.

Another police source, however, said the victims, who were also airlifted, were fixing Smith a meal when he pulled out a gun and began firing.

Bland County officers had been looking for Smith on their patrols since last Friday when he was listed as a missing person.

According to news accounts, Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in 1982 in the May 1981 shooting and stabbing deaths of two AT hikers from Maine. Those killings occurred in Giles County.

Part of the AT stretching from Hollybrook to Pearisburg was blocked off Tuesday morning as police continued their investigation.

We’ll have more details as the case develops.