Joel Polson was The First Person Killed on the Appalachian Trail in 1974

The two met at work, and as soon as Margaret met Joel, he started talking about his big adventure to hike the entire 2190 miles of the trail and invited Margaret on his journey. Margaret was hesitant to accept, but she, too, wanted an adventure and accepted to accompany Joel on the AT.

Joel was 26 years old and known for being a risk-taker. He had taken long bike trips, but this was his first thru-hike. Margaret was 17 and a student at the University of South Carolina, and she was up for an adventure. Margaret was also looking for some direction in her life and found Joel entertaining and enjoyed his company. The two were friends; it was said it was not a romantic relationship.

The two began the trail at Tesnatee Gap, Georgia, 37 miles north of Springer Mountain, the usual starting point. The first day of their hike was short, as they had a late start, but on the second day, they started early. However, at this point, they realized how difficult the AT was. At this time in the 1970s, it was not a popular hike, and less than 100 people had completed the trail.

On the first day of their hike, they made it to Low Gap Shelter, located only a few meters off the trail. They would spend the night here, even though they had only hiked 6 miles that day, as Margaret already had blisters and the pair had not gotten their trail legs yet. When they got to the shelter, a man was already there.

The man introduced himself as Ralph, and according to reports, he did not appear to be the typical thru-hiker. Red flags were immediately raised for Joel, and his gut told him something was off. Joel even mentioned to Margaret that he didn't believe Ralph was a hiker since he didn't have the appropriate gear. However, Joel ignored his intuition, and the pair stayed at the shelter that night. Even with Joel's apprehension, they stayed overnight in the shelter.

Joel even began warming up to Ralph, saying he was ¨ all right ¨. Especially since Ralph was getting the wood for the pair at night. However, even though he warmed up to Ralph, he still wanted to leave the shelter as soon as possible in the morning.

The next morning, Joel was ready to leave, and as Margaret was packing her bag, Joel went to the creek nearby. While Joel was at the creek, Margaret saw Ralph leave the shelter. As Margaret continued getting ready to leave, she heard a gunshot, and when she looked up, she saw Joel on the ground.

After Ralph shot Joel, he went back up to the shelter, took Margaret, and tied her to a tree outside the shelter. Ralph said he wasn't planning on killing her and wasn't sure what to do next. Ralph left Margaret tied to the tree and left. However, he wasn't gone long and returned to get Margaret.

Margaret then asked Ralph what happened to Joel, and he said, ¨I got rid of him¨. Still unsure what to do, Ralph went through Joel's backpack, looking for money. He then tied Margaret up again, and he left. However, Ralph is not gone long and comes back to get Margaret again.

At this point, Ralph told Margaret that he only killed Joel for his gear, and Joel was too big for him to just ¨take it¨. He also didn't want to leave Margaret tied up in the woods, and he did not want to kill her. Ralph also admitted that he had never killed a woman.

So then Ralph took Margaret with him as he continued to hike up the trail. Ralph told Margaret they would hike to the next highway together, and he would then let her go. Margaret agreed to hike with Ralph, except he had a warning for her; if she told anyone about what happened, he would kill her and anyone, she said.

Margaret agreed not to tell anyone. As the pair continued hiking the Appalachian Trail, Margaret reported that Ralph was kind to her, making sure to take plenty of breaks and that she had enough food and water. While they hiked, the two ended up talking about personal issues. Margaret began asking Ralph questions about his past.

At this point, he told her he was from the north but preferred to live in the wilderness of the western United States. He also confessed that he was on the run from the FBI and had been in and out of jail. Eventually, the two stopped at Rocky Knobb Shelter.

They realized they were near the highway where Ralph was supposed to let Margaret go. However, Ralph decided to change the plan, and he no longer wanted to let her go; he first wanted to stay the night in a hotel. They then hiked out of the woods, and she was again threatened not to say anything.

They made it to Helen, Georgia, and they got a hotel room using the money Ralph found in Joel's bag. While in the hotel, Ralph checked to see if the news was reporting anything about Joel's death, and it was not. Ralph felt like he was in the clear.

At the hotel, they began talking, and he even told Margaret that he wished they had met under other circumstances. Margaret then asked Ralph if he had killed anyone before Joel, and he said yes. But it was self-defense or a fight; it was unclear to her what happened.

The next day, they left, and he did not feel comfortable letting Margaret hitchhike alone home. Margaret lived in South Carolina. Instead, he took her to a bus station, where they would each get on a separate Greyhound bus. However, there was no direct bus, so the two went to another station. Eventually, they bought two separate bus tickets: hers to Columbia, SC, and his to Atlanta, GA.

At this time, Ralph told Margaret he knew she would go to the police when she got home. He was letting her go anyway, but he told her not to go right away to the police or innocent people would die. Ralph kept his word, and she went to Columbia, SC, and he went to Atlanta. When she got home, she called her family, but no one was there. She then called the police and asked for them to get her, and that she had seen someone get murdered, and she needed to give them details.

On May 11, 1974, the body of Joel Polson was found near the Low Gap Shelter. A few days later, the police received a phone call from a woman in Atlanta; she said she knew the guy who matched the wanted man's description. 31-year-old Ralph Fox was arrested on May 16, 1974. Ralph was convicted in 1974 and sentenced to life in prison. However, in 1991, he was released on parole; while on parole, he killed a woman in Michigan. He was arrested in 1992 and put back in prison, where he stayed until his death in 2003.