Reports surfaced of a man with a large knife and a dog who had threatened a group of four hikers on Friday night, according to The Washington Post. Two of the hikers fled north and, after losing Jordan, reported the attack to local sheriff’s deputies. In the meantime, Jordan reached the two victims who ran south, stabbing them.<doc-sep>A Massachusetts man is facing federal charges in the brutal attack Saturday of two Appalachian Trail hikers that left a man dead and a woman hospitalized with severe stab wounds, authorities said Sunday. James Louis Jordan, 30, was taken into custody after Wythe County, Virginia, sheriff's deputies located him along the trail in southwestern Virginia, by tracking an SOS signal triggered by one of the victims, officials said. The U.S. attorney's office in Western Virginia said in a statement Sunday that Jordan will be charged with murder and assault with intent to murder in connection with the attack. He is scheduled to appear in court in Abingdon, Virginia, on Monday. "The whole Appalachian Trail community of hikers and volunteers is profoundly sickened by the horrific and deadly attack Saturday morning," said Suzanne Dixon, president of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The names of the victims have not been released, but law enforcement described a horrific scene that involved multiple agencies in a combined effort along the famed scenic trail. It is high season for "thru-hikers" traveling the length of the trail, which stretches along 2,100 miles from Georgia to Maine. Hikers typically begin around spring and trek north. The one-mile length of the trail that passes through Wythe County Sheriff Keith Dunagan's jurisdiction - about 350 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. - is extremely rural and full of hikers this time of year, authorities said. Many began their trek in Georgia in March and early spring and would have traveled 500 miles by the time they reached southwestern Virginia, said Brian King, a spokesman for the Conservancy. Dunagan's deputies were the first to encounter Jordan, several yards from the scene of the attack Saturday. The victims had reported that a man wielding a large knife, accompanied by a dog, had threatened a group of four hikers camped out late Friday night. Jordan allegedly pursued a pair of hikers who fled north, but they eluded him. Those two reached sheriff's deputies in nearby Bland County, and reported the nighttime attack, authorities said. The other two hikers fled south, but were unable to escape and Jordan alleged chased and caught up with them, authorities said. Dunagan said the male victim managed to trigger an SOS signal on his phone and the mobile service provider alerted deputies to his location, just north of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The woman - who suffered defensive wounds and was severely injured by the stabbing - escaped. "She pretended to be dead and when (Jordan) walked away after his dog, she took off running," Dunagan said. The woman found help in another group of hikers she encountered six miles away in Smyth County, Virginia, and was transported to the nearest trauma center, the sheriff said. The Wythe County's Sheriff's Office tactical team traveled four miles into the woods to locate the wounded man's SOS signal. They initially came across walkers who described a knife-wielding man known as "Sovereign" who roamed the trail with a dog. While authorities were talking to the group, a dog ambled over to the camp. Deputies followed the animal, who led them back to Jordan, and he was taken into custody. Investigators later found a 20-inch knife nearby along the trail and soon thereafter, discovered the male victim. Jordan, who authorities think is "Sovereign," was well known to the community of hikers on the trail. Recent news reports of incidents in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia describe a man threatening and chasing other hikers with a machete or large knife. King, of the trail conservancy, said they had heard of the man through alerts shared between hikers and on Trek, a well-read blog that posts frequent updates about life on the Appalachian Trail. "He had a reputation because of his belligerence with other hikers in Tennessee and Georgia," King said. "With smartphones, word gets around very quickly." A Bristol, Tennessee, television station reported that Jordan pleaded guilty to drug and other charges after confronting hikers with a knife near the North Carolina border in late April. He was sentenced to probation, fined and released from custody. Unicoi County, Tennessee, Sheriff Mike Hensley told local news stations at the time that Jordan had been causing problems on the trail and was a "threat" to hikers. Hensley could not be reached Sunday. Homicides are rare on the Appalachian Trail, according to statistics; the last time the trail was the scene of a homicide was in 2011 when a man was found strangled in Virginia. That case remains unsolved. More than 3 million people hike the trail each year and most hikers take care of one another, King said. "It's a community like any other. Anyone who loves the trail feels like this is an attack on them," he said. "The trail is extremely safe but it's not absolutely safe." The section of the trail where the attack occurred has since been reopened by authorities.<doc-sep>Odie Norman, publisher of the Hiker Yearbook, said he met Jordan shortly after his Tennessee arrest. He had been tracking the reports about a man and his dog, interviewing hikers on video to post online and collecting information to report. He said he thinks Jordan first appeared on the trail in Hot Springs, N.C., where he was accused of pulling a knife on hikers at a shelter commonly used by trail walkers.<doc-sep>
A woman played dead then hiked six miles to safety after being stabbed by a man who allegedly killed a fellow hiker and threatened others, police say of a scene that unfolded over the weekend on the Appalachian Trail in southwestern Virginia. James Jordan, 30, of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, faces murder and assault charges in connection with the attack late Friday and early Saturday. A judge on Monday ordered the man undergo a psychiatric evaluation and be held in custody. The man's public defender declined to comment to reporters. According to federal authorities, the man used the trail nickname of "Sovereign" and repeatedly threatened the four hikers he attacked over the weekend. Jordan was known to authorities who had arrested him after he allegedly made threats a month before to other hikers. According to an arrest affidavit, Jordan approached the group in a "disturbed and unstable" manner, playing guitar and singing. "Jordan spoke to the hikers through their tents, and threatened to pour gasoline on their tents and burn them to death," the affidavit says. May 12:A machete attack on the Appalachian Trail left one hiker dead The hikers, fearing Jordan and his erratic behavior, packed up and tried to leave, but were chased, the affidavit says. One couple managed to escape, but the other two hikers were attacked. The affidavit says Jordan caught the man first and stabbed him until he fell. The woman was then stabbed multiple times According to authorities, the woman — who, along with the victim, was not named — played dead after she fell to the ground. Jordan allegedly then left the scene in search of his dog. Two hikers then helped the woman, who managed to walk six miles to Smyth County, Virginia, where they called 911. Authorities said she remained hospitalized Monday but her condition was not immediately known. CNN reported that officials believe she will survive. May 14:3 shot and killed with crossbow in hotel. More bodies turned up in one of their apartments May 14:Man used motorized scooter as a weapon in killing of California woman, police say Sheriff's deputies arrested Jordan last month in Unicoi County, Tennessee, after he allegedly threatened hikers. He was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and criminal impersonation; Jordan pleaded guilty and was later released. A judge ordered him not to return to the trail, but Sheriff Mike Hensley said there were no charges in connection with the threats because none of the hikers would testify. "It’s just heartbreaking that this happened, and our prayers go out to the victims’ families and to this young girl that was stabbed," he said. "I did everything that I could do. I did get this man off the trail. That’s all I could do." Contributing: The Associated Press