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Mitey Mo
07-10-2013, 19:04
Tyler Keefer, a 21 yr old hiker was last seen on Saturday hiking Dickey Ridge Trail in SNP. He left his bike at the entrance to the trail. He has not been heard from since. The SNP has posted a lookout for him on their Facebook Page. Dickey Ridge Trail intersects the AT near Comptons Gap.

Deer Hunter
07-10-2013, 19:13
http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/Search-Underway-in-Shenandoah-National-Park-for-Missing-Man-214967641.html (http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/Search-Underway-in-Shenandoah-National-Park-for-Missing-Man-214967641.html)

Blissful
07-11-2013, 15:59
I have heard nothing yet on my end but I've been off and return to the park in the AM. Uncertain how he can be missing unless he chose to go off trail and wander or got picked up by someone else at the road crossing and went elsewhere for his hike. Trails in SNP are well marked and there is not that much wilderness in the northernmost section or many marked trails.

Coffee
07-12-2013, 17:14
Sad news ... Via SNP twitter feed:

http://www.nps.gov/shen/parknews/search-concludes.htm

canoe
07-12-2013, 17:22
That is sad. I wonder what happened

gizzy bear
07-14-2013, 15:27
How horrible! So sad for his family !! I truly hope foul play wasn't involved.

Downhill Trucker
07-14-2013, 16:04
So sad... I really hope it wasn't an act of violence. I've been noticing more and more weirdos on the trail.

bfayer
07-14-2013, 20:29
Things like this are very sad, and my prayers go out to the family.

For those that posted above, things like this almost never involve foul play.

Furlough
07-14-2013, 22:41
The Northern Virginia Daily
Missing hiker's body found in park

By Joe Beck
A team of searchers in the Shenandoah National Park discovered the lifeless body of Tyler Keefer, 21, of Front Royal, shortly before noon Friday, park officials said.
A news release from the Park Service said the cause of death is under investigation. Front Royal police Chief Norman Shiflett said Keefer's death was a suicide.
Claire Comer, a public information officer with the Park Service, said the search team found Keefer's body in the Dickey Ridge area of the park, where the search has been concentrated since his family reported him missing Monday.
"We had a team of searchers in the woods this morning, and he was located in the area where we had been searching," Comer said of Keefer.
Keefer's last known location before Friday had been the Dickey Ridge Trailhead on Saturday. The Park Service said his bicycle was found at the trailhead, and he may have gone for a hike in the area.
A combination of park employees, volunteers, and dog teams from several agencies participated in the search over several days. The agencies included the Front Royal Police Department, Virginia Search and Rescue Dogs Association, Dogs East Search and Rescue, Blue and Gray Search and Rescue Dogs and canine team dispatcher Melissa Taylor.
"We're just very appreciative of all the volunteer groups that assisted us and our partnership with the Front Royal Police Department," Comer said.
Shiflett said Keefer's body was found near the Front Royal entrance station to the park. He said the searchers discovered the body while conducting a systematic grid search of the area.
Contact staff writer Joe Beck at 540-465-5137 ext. 142, or [email protected]


Copyright © The Northern Virginia Daily | nvdaily.com | 152 N. Holliday St., Strasburg, Va. 22657 | (800) 296-5137

TOW
07-15-2013, 06:36
Life gets pretty rough sometimes. That's why we got to be who we are and say what's on our mind when we need to say it and our friends and family usually understand us just fine. Only when the darkness envelopes us we tend to think we are the only person in the world to be going thru what we are going thru and then we think no one cares anyway so what the heck, lets just move on. It is obvious someone cared enough to go look for him.

kidchill
07-15-2013, 16:25
Just a thought...In police terms, suicide really just means it was NOT a homicide...Was this a purposeful self-inflicted event? I'm NOT trying to be morbid, just curious if it was a succumbing to the elements kind of thing (something we can learn from) or if there was some mental health issues...

waterman1148
07-16-2013, 06:39
Just a thought...In police terms, suicide really just means it was NOT a homicide...Was this a purposeful self-inflicted event? I'm NOT trying to be morbid, just curious if it was a succumbing to the elements kind of thing (something we can learn from) or if there was some mental health issues...

Are you saying succumbing to the elements is a form of suicide?

hikerboy57
07-16-2013, 06:46
Just a thought...In police terms, suicide really just means it was NOT a homicide...Was this a purposeful self-inflicted event? I'm NOT trying to be morbid, just curious if it was a succumbing to the elements kind of thing (something we can learn from) or if there was some mental health issues...

Are you saying succumbing to the elements is a form of suicide? it can be. Guy Waterman took his life on Mount Lafayette. Died of exposure.

Tuckahoe
07-16-2013, 07:16
Let's get real guys. Of the 32k suicides each year, how many do you think were achieved through exposure to the elements? These determinations are usually speculated quickly by authorities soon after because a firearm was the tool used.

Tri-Pod Bob
07-16-2013, 08:08
Let's get real guys. Of the 32k suicides each year, how many do you think were achieved through exposure to the elements? These determinations are usually speculated quickly by authorities soon after because a firearm was the tool used.

Or a bootlace. I'm a retired firefighter. Worked in a fairly large city & had to do a couple retrievals from a pretty big, forested city park over the years. Boots were on the ground....laces were in the tree. Regardless of means, no less sad & tragic.

Pedaling Fool
07-16-2013, 08:29
Just a thought...In police terms, suicide really just means it was NOT a homicide...I ain't no cop, but that doesn't sound right at all. If one intended to commit suicide by "exposure to the elements", (which I believe is very unlikely, especially in this case) I think there would have to be other evidence, i.e. a note, that would lead police to that.

mfleming
07-16-2013, 09:33
Life gets pretty rough sometimes. That's why we got to be who we are and say what's on our mind when we need to say it and our friends and family usually understand us just fine. Only when the darkness envelopes us we tend to think we are the only person in the world to be going thru what we are going thru and then we think no one cares anyway so what the heck, lets just move on. It is obvious someone cared enough to go look for him.

Well said TOW

kidchill
07-16-2013, 16:21
Umm..you guys took that WAY TOO literally. I was just offering an example of what MAY be considered suicide...

"Self-Irrationicide (considered suicide)

The act of an individual that brings about the individual’s own death due to inexperience, ignorance, or lack of cognitive understanding of a situation, which is the result of extrinsic circumstances.


An infant who is hit by an oncoming car while chasing a ball


To get alcohol poisoning (smoking and chance of cancer)

To die not realizing how fast one was going while coming off an on-ramp and smashing into a stoplight"

If someone unintentionally shoots themselves and dies, I'm pretty sure it's still called a "suicide" in legal terms. What I was asking is, IF someone were to die of say hypothermia, "from succumbing to the elements" it may still be deemed a "suicide" by the police...Obviously he didn't die of hypothermia...The hiker that died last year in ME (it was something-pond shelter), is that technically a suicide? That's what I was asking. I've read police reports that rule accidental deaths (car crashes, base jumping, etc) as "suicides." If a cop shoots a criminal in self-defense, it IS considered a homicide. Yes, it's in self-defense and not "murder" or "manslaughter", but it's still considered a "homicide." I'm just simply trying to get an idea if this was an intentional thing, or an accident...And, he could still "succumb to the elements" if it were hot out (dehydration, etc). I'm not saying that's what happened, I'm just curious of the "legal" definition and whether or not it was intentional. Reason being, if it were NOT intentional, what happened, so others can get an idea of some of the risk involved in being in the woods ill-prepared.

Pedaling Fool
07-16-2013, 17:25
I was just offering an example of what MAY be considered suicide...

"Self-Irrationicide (considered suicide)

The act of an individual that brings about the individual’s own death due to inexperience, ignorance, or lack of cognitive understanding of a situation, which is the result of extrinsic circumstances.


An infant who is hit by an oncoming car while chasing a ball
To get alcohol poisoning (smoking and chance of cancer)
To die not realizing how fast one was going while coming off an on-ramp and smashing into a stoplight"

First off, I've never heard the term, "Self-Irrationicide" used by the police. When those things (your examples of Self-Irrationicide) occur it's referred to as an accident.





If someone unintentionally shoots themselves and dies, I'm pretty sure it's still called a "suicide" in legal terms. What I was asking is, IF someone were to die of say hypothermia, "from succumbing to the elements" it may still be deemed a "suicide" by the police...Obviously he didn't die of hypothermia...The hiker that died last year in ME (it was something-pond shelter), is that technically a suicide? That's what I was asking. I've read police reports that rule accidental deaths (car crashes, base jumping, etc) as "suicides." If a cop shoots a criminal in self-defense, it IS considered a homicide. Yes, it's in self-defense and not "murder" or "manslaughter", but it's still considered a "homicide." I'm just simply trying to get an idea if this was an intentional thing, or an accident...And, he could still "succumb to the elements" if it were hot out (dehydration, etc). I'm not saying that's what happened, I'm just curious of the "legal" definition and whether or not it was intentional. Reason being, if it were NOT intentional, what happened, so others can get an idea of some of the risk involved in being in the woods ill-prepared.

I've never heard of a case being labeled as a suicide in an accidental shooting. If that were the case then people would die everyday of suicide on our highways.


Umm..you guys took that WAY TOO literally.



How else were we suppose to take it:confused:

kidchill
07-16-2013, 19:46
This is what I'm referring to.... http://www.chssp.columbia.edu/events/ms/year4/pdf/Suicide_Timmermans,%20Stefan.pdf

As defined, suicide is "self-inflicted with intent to do harm" That's all I was really asking. Answered my own question. Oh, and apparently, there are people that commit suicide by inducing hypothermia...definitely wouldn't be my first choice.

waterman1148
07-16-2013, 23:45
This is what I'm referring to.... http://www.chssp.columbia.edu/events/ms/year4/pdf/Suicide_Timmermans,%20Stefan.pdf

As defined, suicide is "self-inflicted with intent to do harm" That's all I was really asking. Answered my own question. Oh, and apparently, there are people that commit suicide by inducing hypothermia...definitely wouldn't be my first choice.

I see your point now.

As in:"I'm just going to walk into the 20 degree night with only a t-shirt and shorts on" kinda suicide.

Right?