2 Virginia Tech students found shot to death

Dateline: Montgomery County, VA

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10:02 a.m.

By Ashley Roberts
WSLS Reporter

According to a search warrant filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, the car on the scene of the murder was a 1992 Toyota passenger car.

It was registered to 19-year-old David Metzler.

Officers are searching the car for “instrumentalities of the crime of murder, including firearms, weapons, shell or bullet casings, fingerprints and DNA.“

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6:15 p.m.

By Ashley Roberts
WSLS Reporter

The area of Caldwell Fields in the George Washington Jefferson National Forest where people normally come to hike, and enjoy nature, is where the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office believes two Virginia Tech students were killed “in a violent way,“ according to Sheriff Tommy Whitt.

Officers had the are roped off, keeping our news cameras away from the site of the double homicide investigation, off of Craig Creek Road, near the Montgomery County-Craig County line.

Investigators say 19-year-old David Metzler, and 18-year-old Heidi Childs were found shot to death by a man who was walking his dog, around 8:00 a.m. Thursday morning.

When deputies arrived, they found Metzler’s body sitting in a car, while Childs’s body was on the ground.

Sheriff Whitt believes the two Virginia Tech students were killed sometime between Wednesday night, and early Thursday morning.

“I do think this is an isolated, very violent, and brutal situation here,“ Sheriff Whitt said.

Investigators spent most of the day collecting evidence on the scene.

If you have any information, call the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at (540) 382-2951.

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6:10 p.m.

The Montgomery Co. Sheriff’s Office originally stated that Heidi Lynn Childs was 19 years old; however, her correct age is 18.

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5:40 p.m.

Virginia Tech’s website lists David Metzler as being an Industrial and Systems Engineering major, and Heidi Childs as a BioChemistry major.

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5:00 p.m.

Update from the Montgomery Co. Sheriff’s Office:

After notification of both families the names of the two victims of the homicide at Caldwell Fields is being released.

David Lee Metzler, 19 years old, and Heidi Lynn Childs, 19 years old, both of Lynchburg, VA were found by a passerby this morning at approximately 8:00 a.m. in the area of Caldwell Fields off of Craig’s Creek Road in Montgomery County.

Both were deceased when they were found.

The preliminary investigation revealed that both victims had gunshot wounds.

Both were Virginia Tech students living off campus.

No suspects have been identified at this time

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2:04 p.m.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office just sent out an update.

Investigators now say the two people found dead had been shot.

Deputies are calling the initial investigation a double homicide.

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12:22 p.m.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two bodies found in the Caldwell Fields campground area of the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, off Craig Creek Road.

Deputies on the scene tell our crew a hiker was walking a dog Thursday morning, and found the bodies.

The body of a man was found inside a car.  The body of a woman was found outside the car.

Investigators are waiting to release information about the victims, until after they are able to notify family members.  They would not say if the deaths appeared suspicious.