Hunter gets his due!

[Lobo]

Hunting-Incident Defendant Serving Six Years on Drug Charges

A 48-year-old Virginia man convicted in May 2003 of reckless handling of a firearm in the January 1, 2003, shooting of A.T. 2,000-Miler George Ziegenfuss during a short hike on the Trail in Bland County is now in federal prison on drug charges, the Southwest Virginia Enterprise reports. Jackie Leon Keen, Sr., deer hunting that day with a muzzle-loader, was indicted last February on charges of conspiracy with intent to distribute oxycodone and possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offense. He was sentenced August 21 to a 78-month term, the newspaper reported. He had received a suspended six-month sentence and $200 fine last May in the hiker case and lost his hunting privileges for life. Keen also was ordered to pay the medical expenses of Ziegenfuss, a retired Lutheran minister who has moved to Wythe County and underwent several operations as a result of the shot in the back. No payments have been made, state officials told the newspaper.
October 14, 2004

[Cedar Tree]

I stayed with George and Murry Ann for 3 days on my hike. Absolutely wonderful people, greatest Trail Angels ever! I stopped by their house on my way home from the Gathering and spoke with George last month. He still experiences numbness and pain, but he was getting around well and he was still his happy and wonderful self. He is a former thru and has multiple long sections too boot. They bought a house in the next county and have been working many hours and weeks getting it fixed up. Murry has a new calling near their new house, but it is shame they will be further from the trail. He said Grayson Highlands would be their nearest connection to the trail and that would be about an hour away. CT

[Blue Jay]

I stayed with George and Murry Ann for 3 days on my hike. Absolutely wonderful people, greatest Trail Angels ever! I stopped by their house on my way home from the Gathering and spoke with George last month. He still experiences numbness and pain, but he was getting around well and he was still his happy and wonderful self. He is a former thru and has multiple long sections too boot. They bought a house in the next county and have been working many hours and weeks getting it fixed up. Murry has a new calling near their new house, but it is shame they will be further from the trail. He said Grayson Highlands would be their nearest connection to the trail and that would be about an hour away. CT

I echo Cedar Tree's comments. I stayed with them several years ago, previous to the shooting. I have never been made to feel so at home any where. I have since heard countless stories about their generosity to injured hikers. One woman told me she broke up with her boy friend while she was on the trail and they helped her deal with it. They are Angels, period.