Hiker murders focus attention on
park cutbacks

June 8, 1996
Web posted at: 11 p.m. EDT

From Correspondent Michael Okwu

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hikers will travel miles to reach national parks, seeking camaraderie, Mother Nature's challenge, and her tranquillity. "She'll share with you some wonderful sights if you're willing to work to get to the top of the hill," said one.

But the pristine image of the country's national parks, havens for 270 million hikers and campers a year, was tainted this week. The bodies of two slain female hikers were found along the Appalachian Trail in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, their throats slashed. They were the eighth and ninth people killed on the trail since 1974.

Hiker Joanne Joseph said that the word traveled up the trail very quickly. "People are on the lookout," she said.

Independent watchdog groups say that in the last 20 years, crimes within national parks have increased dramatically. The number of homicides, for example, has tripled. "The bottom line is, you're not going to be as safe in a national park as you were ten, twenty years ago," said Paul Pritchard of the National Parks and Conservation Association.

Some blame the statistics on cuts in park service staff, like rangers and security personnel. Some park officials admit they feel pinched, because their parks have more visitors than ever, but federal funding for parks has gone down.

Roger Rector, the superintendent of Delaware Water Gap, said money concerns had forced his staff to take some cuts. "As we're seeing the increases in personal services costs, as we're seeing utilities costs going up, that's our hardest thing to try to deal with and as a result, we've had to not hire some of our seasonal employees for this year," he said.

"The number of rangers per visitor over a decade ago was one ranger to 50,000 visitors. Today, that number is almost half as good: one ranger to 90,000 visitors," Pritchard said.

However, parks service officials say that hikers should keep the crime increase in perspective. The rise in crime over the last two decades, they say, has simply reflected the increase nationwide. More importantly, incidents of violent crime in the last five years, from homicides to assaults have plummeted by 68 percent.

Roger Kennedy of the National Parks Service said the double murder is a tragedy, and the victims should be in peoples' minds. "It's a sadness for people; it's a sadness for the Parks Service," he said. However, he maintained, "generally speaking, the parks are safer than they were five years ago."

"We're all a little upset by it, but I don't think any of us are going to quit. We feel actually, all of us, the trail is probably the safest place around," said hiker Stan Unger. Campers follow a few basic, common-sense rules: Avoid hiking alone, and never tell strangers where you are pitching tent. For now, they enjoy nature undaunted.

Related story:

• Budget cuts whittle away at national park system - May 28, 1996

Related site:

• National Park Service

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