Since you and Appalachiagirl are locals, I will pose this question to both of you. I have mentioned edit previously but didin't seem to get a response. Last week a WS poster mentioned that JLM had posted to his FB a comment about spotsylvaniagreenways.com. I don't recall what JLM's comment was but it was pasted from his FB to this forum. I am not familiar with the area as I've only visited Virginia once, so I turn to those who are familiar with the various areas. I AM curious if we should pay attention to the fact that Jesse commented about the area? I say yes because to me it says he is either familiar with the area or has an interest in it for some reason. From what I have read here, he has always been the outdoorsy type. So I went to this site (I suggest all posters do the same) and found that it has several areas (Salamander Loop, and other trails) that have easy access and dense woods with walking trails throughout which might be the very the of area he chose. I believe the area is about 60 miles from Charlottesville and is in Frederericksburg. Guided tours of Salamander Loop are given the second Sunday of each month. Volunteers give the tours. There is a form to fill out to become a volunteer. They attend classes and then become qualified masters. Who knows, JLM might even BE a volunteer there. It just seems like an area that Jesse would have been interested in long before September 13th. If, for example, JLM didn't pre-plan his attacks he probably didn't pre-select a site, but when the time came that he needed a location, this area might have popped into his mind. There are creek beds and the Ni River Trail as well as Salamander Loop (and others).
As a local, do you feel this area would be a feasible place for LE to search. And though we have no way of knowing how JLM thinks, he "might" think leaving a body in an area that is open to the public would take any focus off of him "specifically", thinking a defense could be it could have been anyone who accessed the area.
This is my first post, but I am a long time visitor to this site.
I dont believe JM would have traveled this far to discard one of his victims. I believe it is just too far away and it only increases the chances of getting caught.
With that being said, I live in Spotsylvania and I did visit the Ni River Trails this past Sunday (Oct. 5th) with the sole purpose of seeing and/or smelling if HG might have been discarded here.
The following link will give you a good map and satellite image of the trail area and hopefully help you visualize what I am about to describe.
http://fambe.org/trail-map-viewer/salamander-loop-mountain-bike-trail/
Upon arriving to the parking area, I did notice turkey vultures circling above the south-west corner of the trails. Seeing this I decided to walk the trail at the south-western end nearest the farm pond. The trails are surrounded by very tall trees that provide a very thick canopy over top of the trails. In fact, if you look at a satellite image of the area you cant make out any of the trails because of the canopy.
Looking at the illustrated map at fambe.org:
The trail I started on is at the south-west corner of the farm pond area. It starts where the ? is. At the ? area, I could hear a lot of crows squawking. I believe it as either a warning squawk or they were trying to chase the buzzards away. I walked about 130 steps down to the first yellow dot. The area of the first yellow dot is where I could hear that the squawking was coming from a south-westerly angle away from the first yellow dot. So I ventured about 20 yards until I could see the sky through the trees. There I could see the group of crows. They were in the tree tops to the west. They must have seen me because the whole group flew away in a south-easterly direction. Looking at the fambe.org satellite map, I believe I was looking towards the somewhat circular clearing. Beyond the clearing would be the rock quarry. I did not venture any further because it was private property. Other than the buzzards and the crows, I did not observe any- thing unusual.
Next, I walked back towards the farm pond and took my first left and walked the trail that eventually runs along the Ni River (its more like a big stream about 10-15 feet wide). This trail branches off before you get to the next ? and is not highlighted on the map. This trail runs downhill and is mildly steep as it meets up with the Ni. I did not see or smell anything unusual on this portion of the trail. I walked it to the end. At one point when I was walking along the Ni, I could hear the crunching of gravel by a vehicle driving super slow on the other side of the river. It eventually stopped but I couldnt see anything because of the trees. I then walked back to the parking area. I did not walk the upland trail (salamander loop) because I figured if you are carrying a body, you want to go downhill towards the swampy and river areas.
Back at the parking lot, I decided to check out the 4 sided wooden structure, that is supposed to hide a dumpster. There is no dumpster there but people do dump trash there anyway. There were a couple of small bags of trash, probably from someones vehicle. There was an unusually large pile of empty Newport hard back cigarette packs. It looked to be about 15-20 packs. This caught my eye because someone mentioned that JM might smoke.
Some background information on the area:
The Ni River Trails parking area is behind a vacant building that is for lease.
The building to the south of the parking area is the Spotsylvania School Board
The quarry behind the school board is not currently operating.
I visit the area to observe wildlife and to take pictures. I have visited the area around 15-20 times since it opened. I usually visit mid morning to early afternoon and Ive seen other people there maybe 3 times (a total of about 6 people). These trails are not well known or well visited. In fact, on my Sunday visit the trails in some sections were starting to overgrow. I have seen deputies cruise around the vacant building 2 or 3 times on my visits.
Even though these trails are not well visited, I think youd be taking a chance parking in the parking area at night and doing something illegal. My reasoning for this is that I am sure the School Board building and the High School on the other side of route 1 is driven by at least once a night by deputies. Also, it would be a good place for cops to lay low at night to fill out reports, make phone calls, take a break, etc
. If they get a call they can always say they are checking out the School Board building.
This is my opinion. I wouldnt risk it, but then again Im not a serial killer either.
I hope this clears some sleuthers questions about this area.
Update: I drove by the trails parking area Tuesday the 7th to see if the buzzards were still flying overhead and they were not.
