Elwood's Back (trail thief)

[BeaverTrapper]

Innocent until proven Gulity..It's the American Way..

Nope. A man is innocent in the eyes of the law until proven guilty. We the people are free to form our own opinions, based on our own experience and intuition. We are free to like, or dislike; judge or not judge others as we choose.

I can take one look at the SOB and tell you that I'd sleep with one eye open if that dude was around.

[steve hiker]

Elwood's sure been having a lot of people dying on him lately. Poor SOB, I dedicate this song to him:

People Who Died

Words and music: Jim Carroll

Teddy sniffing glue he was 12 years old
Fell from the roof on East Two-nine
Cathy was 11 when she pulled the plug
On 26 reds and a bottle of wine
Bobby got leukemia, 14 years old
He looked like 65 when he died
He was a friend of mine

Chorus:
Those are people who died, died
Those are people who died, died
Those are people who died, died
Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

G-berg and Georgie let their gimmicks go rotten
So they died of hepatitis in upper Manhattan
Sly in Vietnam took a bullet in the head
Bobby OD'd on Drano on the night that he was wed
They were two more friends of mine
Two more friends that died / I miss 'em--they died

Repeat chorus

Mary took a dry dive from a hotel room
Bobby hung himself from a cell in the tombs
Judy jumped in front of a subway train
Eddie got slit in the jugular vein
And Eddie, I miss you more than all the others,
And I salute you brother/ This song is for you my brother

Repeat chorus

Herbie pushed Tony from the Boys' Club roof
Tony thought that his rage was just some goof
But Herbie sure gave Tony some bitchen proof
"Hey," Herbie said, "Tony, can you fly?"
But Tony couldn't fly . . . Tony died

Repeat chorus

Brian got busted on a narco rap
He beat the rap by rattin' on some bikers
He said, hey, I know it's dangerous,
but it sure beats Riker's
But the next day he got offed
by the very same bikers

Repeat chorus

[oruoja]

Unfortunately there are others out there prone to "Elwood" hikers and relieve them of their belongings. Just be alert and enjoy the fact that the trail is the safest place you can be when it comes to threats posed by your fellow man. I just can't resist to comment on the notion of "innocent until proven guilty" being the American way. In my many years of dealing with lawyers the honest ones will tell you to your face it's all about "how much justice can you afford." After witnessing the rampant B.S. that the legal system swirls around in I can only wish for anyone to be fortunate enough in life to never need to pay for a lawyer. Hope I have not upset any practicing lawyers or any budding Perry Masons preparing to enter the field to make a difference. Believe it or not, twenty to twenty-five years ago I was not anywhere so cynical, and for those that may be wondering my lawyer experience was not from the perspective of a defendant. What does all of this have to to with hiking? The more B.S. you witness and it's cumulative effect over years only intensifies the desire to hike and makes every outing more enjoyable.

[comotion]

Ugh, I met this guy last year just outside of Damascus. He told me the same story as he told Rumbler. He also told me that his tent had been stolen by a section hiker named Lone Wolf at Trail Days so he was stuck shelter hopping. I didnt' see him for a day or so as I hiked ahead but then got sick and he caught up to me. I saw him again going through Grayson Highlands in the fog-alone. Quite honestly he made me a bit nervous so I picked up my pace, thought seriously about the self defense course that I took a few years ago and hiked away (tough since I was really sick). Now, I read in these posts that he is occassionally using my name!!! It frightens me to think that perhaps I made enough of an impression on him for him to steal my trail name and that of Skid Mark!-too bad he can't come up with his own creative names!

After hiking away from him in Grayson Highlands I didn't hear much about him until I got into DWG where the police where looking for him and the hostel there was hoping for a photo to post. I think they were able to get one.
Now, if they could just catch him and keep him in custody..that would be great. Elwood definately tries to play on sympathy from anyone-it really saddens me that people need to do that for whatever reason. I think that after he is caught, tried, convicted and thrown in jail...he should have to pay for psychological counseling (I don't want tax payer money going to this) to figure out his brain so that no one else has to deal with his lies and thieving.


-Constant Motion (the real Constant Motion!)

[Chappy]

[QUOTE=comotion]He also told me that his tent had been stolen by a section hiker named Lone Wolf at Trail Days so he was stuck shelter hopping.QUOTE]


Sounds like Lone Wolf made an impression on him, too.

[Lone Wolf]

I'm a lot of things but thief ain't one of them. God help him if he crosses my path.

[comotion]

i didn't believe the Lone Wolf story..about either of the Lone Wolf's that I met on the trail last year (one section hiker, one thru hiker). Elwood probably just remembered the name..who knows what that guy is thinking.

Constant Motion

[Dances with Mice]

So what does Elwood steal besides Trail Names?

Cash? Food, fuel? Tent, bag, pack? Clothes? Batteries? Cameras/radios? What?

[Two Speed]

Does anyone know for sure that this guy's real name is Elwood?

[jlb2012]

From the first post in this thread - his real name is Steven Bundy.

[steve hiker]

So what does Elwood steal besides Trail Names?

Cash? Food, fuel? Tent, bag, pack? Clothes? Batteries? Cameras/radios? What?

I bet he steals gurlfriends thats why L. Woof is so mad at him.

[hiker dude]

So what are you saying here? You left your gear in charge with a some low life hobo with shabby cloths, smelly, scum, teeth in exchange for some free liquor bla bla bla and you can't tell the difference? Didn't you see the movie Deliverance? Bin Ladin looks like a backpacker to. Now see, maybe he's hiding right under our noise as a hiker to, now I think about how gullible everyone is. I'm almost sure the CIA can find Bin Ladins hiking on the A-T in shorts, or so he says he's hiking.

Can I leave all my old gear off at that shelter or will it mess up the Blair Witch hunt, Blair?

Move on, you got punked, don't try to create the pefect world. They seem to know to stay away from me like Merlin for some reason, so I can't use my magic anymore.

[Two Speed]

From the first post in this thread - his real name is Steven Bundy.

Doh!

[Dudeboard]

From the first post in this thread - his real name is Steven Bundy.

Ted Bundy his brother?

[TakeABreak]

This entire read interesting, This is the first I have heard of this, but am not amazed at what he is doing. Personally, I would do as a few others mentioned if I caught him going thru my **** or stuff came up missing after he was around and it could not have been any else. I would save myself and others a lot of grief, and give some relief to my fellow tax payers.

[Stagger Lee]

Encountered alleged AT section hiker as my wife and I were leaving Kimberly's Restaurant on US 11 near Dickinson College. He was around late 40s early 50s in age and looking for someplace for a "couple of cold Budweisers." He said he was heading south. Had old kanvas pack and hand-carried bedroll. Said he had no trailname. Reminded me of Humphrey Bogart character in Treasure of Sierra Madre. Even if it is not Elwood, I had negative vibes about him. He had an American flag hanging from back of his pack. Sorry if I just bad-mouthed an OK hiker, but take it for what it's worth. He was friendly enough (just like Elwood?).

[bearbait2k4]

I am really confused as to how warning people about a con artist on the trail can be perceived as a witch hunt.

If information about characters, such as this guy, is verified to be true and posted to warn others, then I can see nothing but good coming from it. Especially in a community where you usually can and will trust almost everyone you run across enough to turn your back on your portable home in their presence. I’m all for any effort to remove persons like this from the trail, instead of having the trail turn into a community where you can’t feel that you can trust the next hiker you come across.

I don’t think anyone is trying to create the perfect world here, just trying to preserve the imperfect one that already exists.

[BonzNRio]

I was really hoping to find a post(s) saying that the s.o.b. had been caught.While in Harpers Ferry he was going by another name.The day after he was walking up the steps from the train station & the owner of the outfitters called him by Elwood & he turned,waved,smiled then crapped on hisself.

[Mountain Dew]

Chore Boy aka owner of Outfitters at Harpers Ferry, Called Elwood by his "real" trail name after seeing him from the balcony ? That's totally hilarious. I think I would have chimed in with... " Hey Elwood, can I get you anything besides somebody elses gear ?"

[hiker dude]

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Thats what makes me sick, ok?

Those who judge shall be judged themselfs also, be carefull, its not over yet.

So Ok you told everyone. Great. Is that all your doing? Don't stop on my account. From beyond the sun.