Was this guy caught?
From Mosey's TJ,
April 12:We had dinner at the one open local restaurant where we enjoyed a steak meal and lots of trail talk with Vagrant and the Kiwi's. Mr. Kiwi had a trail altercation with another hiker and was nursing an injured shoulder. We had met the perpetrator before and decided he was someone to stay away from. We're told that the authorities are still investigating this unfortunate incident. In the meantime, the word has gotten out on the trail about our bad boy hiker. Hopefully we won't see him again. The Kiwi's are two of the nicest hikers we've met and it's a shame that visitors to our country have to experience a trail jerk. Fortunately, we've only met this one bad apple.
April 14: We didn't start hiking until 10:00 after a last conversation with the Kiwi's who are staying in Hot Springs until Ron's shoulder is checked out again. Then they'll either get back on the trail or go somewhere else to get Ron's shoulder fixed. It's our understanding that the authorities are now looking for the individual who assaulted Ron last week.
From Vagrant's TJ,
April 9:Ron's shoulder in real bad shape. We had to stop for a short day.
April 18: "Ron and Merryll drove to Erwin to see me. That means they are off the AT. Ron's shoulder is bad enough he is willing to stop. It's a very hard choice for him. But potentially damaging it permanently is in the balance. Not worth the risk even for an adventure like this."