Murder on the Appalachian Trail

Hi, I'm Holly. Hi, Hayley. Welcome to Mountain Mysteries, Tales from Appalachia. So for today's story, we're going back to May of 1981, when the number one song on the charts was Morning Train 9-5 by Sheena Easton.

Have you heard it? I have it. It's a great one. You've got to listen.

Ronald Reagan had recently been inaugurated in his first term as president, and the world was excitedly awaiting the summer wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Were you excitedly awaiting that? I was not because I'm a baby. Okay, well, it's all right.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, 227-year-old social workers from Maine, Robert Mountford, Jr., also known as Bobby, and his girlfriend Laura Susan Ramsey, known as Susan, wanted to earn a little bit of money towards the cause of mental illness, a cause that was close near and near to their heart. So they chose to do one of their favorite things, which was hiking along the Appalachian Trail. They were really active hikers. They enjoyed camping.

I felt like this would be a great way to do something they loved and earn money at the same time. So he started off actually in Georgia, and they decided to meet up in Virginia. So they met up in Virginia in May of 1981. Along the way, they met another female hiker whom they befriended, and they all made a plan to meet at a certain time and place in a couple of days.

So what ended up happening is the female hiker got there, and she waited and waited, and they never showed up. She became worried because as much as she had known, they had been pretty reliable. So she actually called law enforcement, and they were deemed missing persons. I mean, social workers after my own heart, but maybe not the whole missing action.

Exactly. And so near and dear, you know, that they would be willing to do that. Yeah. And that's so cool to take a hike and earn money and get a little exercise.

I'm going to do that. Absolutely. So clearly, there were people who had really good hearts who were trying to help others. So Bonnie and Laura had set up camp.

They had done a little fishing. They were exhausted, and a man came to their campground. His name was Randall Lee Smith. Randall Lee Smith was a man in his 30s.

He was from the area. He knew the trail very well. In fact, growing up, he could see the trail from his house. So Randall Lee was actually raised by a single mother who worked at the local hospital laundry.

Many of the neighbors reported that she was a quiet woman, kept it herself. But they also reported that when her son was very little that she would dress him in female clothes and parade him around as a girl. And they say that he was kind of a loner. His schoolmate said that he really didn't have a lot of friends.

And when he would have any kind of social interaction with peers, he would make up stories about being very well off, having a lot of money. And he would also mention that he had property in other states. His friends of course knew this not to be true as he was raised by a single mother who they lived in a very small house. And so he got the nickname, L.R.

for lying Randall. Oh, Randall. Oh, poor Randall. And so ironically and oddly enough, when they would call him lying Randall to his face, he would get sort of cheeky grin and smile and almost laugh.

Okay, I mean, you know, accepting the nickname empowerment maybe. Maybe? I don't know. Yeah, seriously on.

So he actually once he graduated high school, he went from job to job. He had worked in a shipyard. It actually gave him time to wonder. And he, as a child, would wonder the Appalachian Trail alone.

And this is something, yes. Does it catch us a little bit? Where are your children? We don't know.

We don't know. They're on the trail. I mean, also we said the 80s. Yeah.

So maybe things were like a little different 80s. Right. So he would have been born in the 50s. Okay.

So yeah, like clearly, you know, we're just like our kids do the things they want to do. Absolutely. Absolutely. I do want to preface that the Appalachian Trail really is a very safe place.

Yeah. You know, it's not common to see a lot of violent crimes. So he would walk up and down the Appalachian Trail. He was very familiar with it.

And in fact, he could see it from the windows of his house. So it was sort of near and dear to him. He was described as an individual who had long dark hair. He was sort of a big build, but he was out of shape.

So they described him as he looked like he could be a football player, but one who didn't work out or hadn't in a while. See, I'm kind of like, when you say that, I don't know why, but the first thing that pops in my head when I hear the name Landell is like a Squirony little dude. I don't know why. I don't know why.

I see that too. Like, I'm kind of like, I'm thinking of a movie character. Maybe a little nerdy. Maybe a little nerdy.

Yeah. I see that too. Yeah. Yeah.

Little Randall. Yeah. I see that he's got a set up camp. They start talking to him.

He seems very engaging. And they invite him to have dinner. So good people. Like good kind social workers.

You know, maybe they picked up on something a little unique about him. Yeah. And so they were very kind to him. They enjoyed a meal with him.

And it said later in the evening when it started getting dark, he and Bobby got into an altercation. He pulled out, and this is Randall, pulled out a 22-caliber gun and actually shot Bobby in the head. Not as lighted so fast. Very fast, right?

So at this point, it is alleged that Susan got up, she had been sleeping in her tent, she and got into a physical scuffle with Randall. And Randall at that point took a very long nail. And I don't know if this was a nail that secured the tent. I don't exactly know.

The tent secret. Yeah. But he took it and stabbed her with it 13 times. Hey, I'm talking about the overkill.

That's an angry guy. Yeah. Do you ever try to stab something 13 times? No.

I mean, he'd revive. Yeah. That's good to know. That seems like that'd be a lot of stabbing.

That's a lot. That's an angry man who just met these people. He offered him dinner. And he fed him.

I would hate to think they were rude to him. Right. You know? My gosh.

He buried them with his hands. He put them back into their sleeping bags and buried them with his bare hands. At this point, he drove off. He went somewhere.

They ended up finding him in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. But the hunt was on to try and find them because their friend who had waited at the site where they were all going to meet, she had called the police. And so people were on the lookout for them. It actually took several weeks for them to find their bodies.

And the bodies at that point had to cater. So when autopsies were done, it was alleged that the female, Susan in this case, had possibly been sexually assaulted. And couldn't be proven because of the decay on the body. So finally, they ended up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina making the connection.

And they found Randall. He was arrested and brought back to Virginia where he was charged. He admitted to the crime. You know, I did it, yes.

He was sentenced. He plea bargained, though, with a lesser crime. Pree bargain. I love a plea bargain, the second degree murder.

What? Yes. Why there was a plea bargain? I don't even know.

So he doesn't make any sense. So he plea bargains. And he gets the second degree murder. And he gets 15 years.

15 years? Right. 15 years for this vicious murder. He's two innocent people who were just trying to help others.

And he gave him a meal. He gave him a meal and he'll take your life. What? And he'll get 15 years for it?

And he'll get 15 years. So fast forward to 1996. His 15 years is up and he is paroled. He got paroled?

He got paroled. What? So just so you know, a lot of people were protesting his paroled. They were marching along the Appalachian Trail protesting this.

So this was very active protest. People were really, really angry. But nonetheless, he was paroled. He went back to the small town there in Virginia where he had been born and raised.

His mother had died during the time that he was in prison. So he actually lived in her house. He worked some unsteady jobs. He worked as a mechanic for a little while and he did some welding.

Nothing really stuck. Neighbors said that he actually kept to himself. He really kept a little profile. And it didn't appear that he had gotten into any sort of trouble, so to speak.

So then in March of 2008, he and his dog. And so now this puts us 27 years after the crime. He and his dog went to go hang out again on the Appalachian Trail. So he left everything behind.

And they went for a pretty long camping trip. Meanwhile, a couple of months later. So we were back in May of 2008. May since seems to be this month here for him.

I don't know if he's talking about that spring. I don't know. So it's May 2008. We have this man named Scott Johnson.

He and his friend Sean, since they were children, had enjoyed going camping together, fishing. And they decided that they were going to make a two day camping trip. They were going to meet there. So Scott Johnson is driving along the road when he sees a dog who looks very emaciated.

He sees his ribs. He can see basically all his bones. And he's thinking, oh my gosh, this poor dog hasn't eaten in a very long time. Behind him following the dog was Randall E.

Smith, who also didn't look too great. He looked like he hadn't eaten in a while. He was on Shaven. So Scott rolled out a window and said, hey, you need a ride.

Are you hungry? Kind of thing. Never pick up the night or pick up people. Yeah.

Definitely. Definitely. So he engaged in a conversation. They talked for a little while.

And Randall had told him, yes, I've been camping out. But I hadn't been able to catch any fish. And Scott said, oh, well, I've been able to catch Tom. He'll hear some trout.

Can I take you to your campsite? And come to find out, Randall's campsite was actually very close to where Scott and his friends, Sean's campsite was. So Randall said, hey, maybe this evening I'll just pop by and say hello. Seeing that he was alone and feeling a little sorry for him, Scott said, oh, yeah, sure.

And just sort of blew it off. Yeah, sure. Come on back. So Sean, the friend, shows up.

They end up setting up camp. And while Scott is collecting more firewood and fishing, Sean continues to mill around the camp ground. And Randall comes to join them. Randall comes up to Sean, introduces himself as Ricky Williams.

Already not letting this. Yeah, I know. That's him. I'm real worried for Sean Scott here.

Super. Super. Super. Yeah, yeah.

So he introduces himself as Ricky Williams. He says, yeah, I met your friend Scott earlier. We got to talking. And so in Sean's head, he's thinking, oh, you know my buddy.

You have rapport with him. You know him. You're a cool guy. OK, fine.

So they invite him to stay for dinner. So you think I'm here? This is a theme. Seems to be a theme.

So they invite him to stay. And he stays. They have dinner. And they actually make extra trout for the dog, because the dog seems starving.

Ricky Williams tells the story about how he went to UVA, University of Virginia. He was Virginia Tech. And that he actually wrote for NASA. Wrote for NASA?

Wrote for NASA. What kind of writing did NASA? He'd written papers. He said for NASA.

I mean, I guess I need that. I guess there's somebody who was the writer for NASA. Yeah. So he was writing papers for NASA.

I guess it could be an astronaut. So he won the papers. Right, the papers. Absolutely, absolutely.

So Sean and Scott actually did not believe this story. They were thinking, yeah, no kidding. It seemed a little far-fetched to them. But what they were thinking is that maybe he had a little problem with alcohol.

He seemed to shovel, but the odd thing about it is he was doing really nice expensive clothing. He was in a very expensive camo jacket and pants and he was wearing very expensive hiking boots. So to them, they felt like maybe he'd gotten kicked out of his house. So maybe he was just living there and just having a tough go of it.

So they were a little sympathetic to him. But he wouldn't leave the campsite. Yeah, it's always weird when you like, like I mean you don't want to have a friend over and you're like, okay. So you had a man, I feel like I've got to get up it.

It's been a long day working on this campsite. Yeah, I exhausted. Wow. No, he wasn't.

He wasn't taking the hint. And so they were kind of like, is he going to leave? This is so odd. So eventually he got up like he was getting ready to leave.

He called his dog, patted his leg. And the dog came to him. He actually stood behind Sean and pulled out a 22-calibre bow. His seems to be his kind of choice.

So he pulls this out and before anybody can realize what's going on, he shoots Sean in the temple. So he's actually standing behind Sean at this point. Sean is a man who is pretty burly guy. He stands well over six feet tall and he's over 360 pounds.

So he shoots him in the temple and his friend Scott of course, who is there, turns around and Ricky, AKA Randall, turns the gun onto Scott and shoots Scott in the nape of the neck. So maybe this whole like just serving 15 years for the murder and getting cruel thing was not a good move. I don't feel like that was rehabilitating. Right.

Stency like that. No, doesn't seem like that at all. So Scott started to run out towards the woods and run away. Scott started to run out towards the woods.

Ricky Randall turned the gun towards him and started firing at the silhouette. He ends up shooting him again in the back of the neck as Scott runs to hide in the woods. Meanwhile the dog is barking like crazy and Sean gets shot again. Yes.

Means are even shot in the bed. Exactly. So Sean is able to somehow miraculously crawl his way to his truck. What?

Yes, and the ignition keys are inside and he glances to the right of him and there he sees Ricky Randall standing there with the gun pointed at him to shoot him again and he pulls the trigger. Oh my God. This would have probably killed him. Yeah.

Oh, thank the Lord. So he starts to reload. Apparently he just has bullets just on him so he starts to reload. At that point Scott knowing how it's going to go drives off and he somehow makes it to the road and Scott who's been hiding in the woods and is bleeding profusely from the neck sees the light and goes running to the car and they get in the truck and they start driving off.

The one thing though that Scott who'd been hiding in the woods thought to himself is, oh my gosh, my truck is still sitting there with my keys in it. Oh my God. What if he comes after us? He's making the car.

Exactly. You've got Scott who's holding pressure on his neck fearing that he is not going to make it and if he lets go of the pressure he may bleed out. And Sean's been shot in the head at this point. Sean's been shot in the head.

He's driving. So they are trying to help each other. So you've got Scott who's holding onto his neck and trying to steer. You've got Sean who is, you know, got his foot on the accelerator and it is kind of a hot mess.

They're trying to go down this mountain that's very steep and curvy. They are driving erratically and Sean is driving very, very fast to which Scott is trying to tell him please slow down and go down and kill us. And so they actually end up running into an embankment but luckily they're able to get themselves out and they keep on driving. They finally get to the point where they're down the mountain and they see lights.

Now this is 2008. So compared to the crime in 1981 they actually had cell phones on them but they didn't have cell service. Oh you don't have cell service anywhere up here. Exactly.

So they didn't have any cell service so finally they came across what was a new housing development. Of course. Right. Yeah.

So the first house that they came to was actually still under construction and there was nobody who lived there. So the second house they came to they saw lights on and they went and started banging on the door. Scott out of the car. So the woman, one of the lady who lived there she thought oh my gosh this is like a home invasion.

You know because she saw a man like hold his neck and bleeding and she didn't know what was going on. And she and her 20 year old son and her father lived at the residence. So he Scott said you know my buddy and I have been shot up on the mountain. Can you please call 911.

And so she calls 911 along with her 20 year old son and they are telling the story of what happened to them about how the man came along the campsite. They offered him dinner and how he shot them with a 22 caliber pistol. The grandfather recognizing the story because he lived in the area a long time said you know this sounds very familiar because there was a crime that happened very similarly in 1981 and oddly enough there has been a missing persons bulletin for Randall Lee Smith. Randall AKA Ricky Williams.

Ricky. Ricky. Damn Ricky. So he tells his grandson he says you know why don't you go to the local I guess grocery store.

I guess there was a poster up of what Randall looked like. And so grandson goes and he comes back and they ask the gentleman they ask Scott and Sean is this the man that shot you and Scott said 100% this is the man. Now they did notice that the picture of the man he was a little bulkier and the man that they had seen was very strong and he obviously spent quite a while. Right.

Right. Not being very good at fishing. So they were able to identify that it was Randall Ricky who had been the man who shot them. So Scott and Sean were both taken to the hospital.

They had pretty significant injuries obviously. They were told by doctors had it in millimeters they both would have been dead so they felt very lucky to be alive. Actually their story is featured on the episode of the show I Survived. Oh wow.

Yeah so you all should check that out if you get an opportunity. I know if it's on YouTube it might very well be. So having the knowledge that this was Randall who had committed these crimes yet again I say yet again. And do note that this crime in 2008 happened only a mile and a half away from where the murders were committed in 1981.

Whoa. So he is a creature of hat. Yeah it sounds like it. So the cops quickly found him he was actually driving Scott's truck which he had stolen a chasing suit and his car actually went over in embayment and flipped.

He was pretty significantly injured so he spent some time in the hospital. Once he was released of course this he was released on May the 9th 2008 they put him into jail. The next day the jailer was coming with his dinner tray and he called out to him and Randall never responded so he went inside the cell where he found Randall dead. Now there are mixed I found a lot of mixed information on how he died.

Some people say that he actually hanged himself. Some people say that he just died of natural causes. Some people say that he died due to injuries that were sustained from that wreck and also being severely emasiated. Right.

Any of those things are definitely plausible. They said that no other injuries were found on the body. So they didn't believe that it was any wrong doing. Right.

And that's where the story ends. I will tell you all if you were interested in learning more about Susan and Bobby the two social workers who really put their heart and soul into helping other people and were tragically killed at the age of 27. Please look at a book called Murder on the Appalachian Trail by Jess Carr. He's actually a native of Bradford, Virginia.

This book was published in 1984 and it will give you more information about the life and story of these two incredible folks and their tragic tragic end. So thank you so much for joining us for this great story. We're going to share another story from Mountain Mysteries Tails from Appalachia. Again, thank you guys so much for listening to this week's episode.

If you'd like to, you can send us an email at mountainmisseries.apalatchin at gmail.com and you can send us your case suggestions and some speaking stories of your own. We would love to be able to do a listener stories episode. So we need some stories to make that happen. You can follow us on Instagram at mountainmisseries.apalatchin and check us out on Facebook at Mountain Mysteries Tails from Appalachia.

Again, thank you guys so much for listening and we'll see you next week.