Hi, park enthusiasts. I'm your host, Delia Diambra. And the story I have for you today is one that's

taken me the better part of six months to research and pull together. It's one of the first

documented murders on the Appalachian Trail, but it's also a story of incredible survival.

The killing of Joel Polson in 1974 at the Low Gap Shelter is a case that many bloggers and

true crime content creators have covered over the years.

But never like this.

Because today's episode is the first time you'll be hearing the full story.

From the perspective of the lone survivor, who was just 17 years old when she witnessed

the brutal execution of her hiking companion, and then was taken hostage by the perpetrator.

Earl Swift wrote a great article about this story for Outside Magazine in 2018, and it's a piece

of source material I found super helpful in writing this episode.

But today is the first time anyone is getting this story in depth in audio format.

To set the scene a little bit, the low gap area of the AT where this crime occurred is in White

County, Georgia, about 30 miles north of the city of Cleveland, Georgia, not too far from the

Georgia-North Carolina border. Back in 1974, the AT didn't have the documented track record of

murders that we know of today. We're talking about a time when many people hitchhiked as a regular

means of transportation, and there were no smartphones and GPS wasn't a thing.

In general, the communication between law enforcement agencies in different states wasn't as

interconnected as it is today. Something I hope each and every one of you takes away from this

episode is that stranger danger is very real. It's a practice we should all live by,

especially whenever we're in the woods.

It's not just a saying that we teach to young children and teenagers.

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