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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Three Arrested for Homicide in Park [Printer-friendly text version] On January 15th, hikers found the body of a young woman in the woods approximately 20 yards off of Toms Branch Road, which is located in the Deep Creek area of the park. Rangers, a special agent, and Swain County deputies responded to the scene and began an investigation. The FBI joined in the following morning. The preliminary investigation found that she had been shot twice in the face and that the murder had occurred at the location where her body had been found. The woman’s identity was unknown and there were no missing person reports matching her description. Cherokee tribal police joined into the intensive investigation, which led to the identification of the 17-year-old victim, an enrolled Cherokee tribal member. The investigation led to the January 20th arrest of a 20-year-old man, also an enrolled tribal member. The man confessed to the murder and said that he and another person had driven the woman into the park on January 13th and shot her with a .38 caliber revolver. On January 24th, two other men – one age 18, the other age 19 – were arrested and charged with being accessories after the fact to murder. A federal magistrate judge has ordered all three men to be held without bond. Additional charges may follow upon presentation to a grand jury. More information will follow as the case progresses.
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| National Park Service | Department of the Interior | FirstGov |