Police in N.C. search for suspect as spiked trails reopen
SYLVA, N.C. — Pinnacle Park west of Asheville reopened Tuesday after being closed since the weekend after nails were found hammered into tree roots along a park trail.
The 1,100-acre forested park is owned by the town of Sylva, with a total of 18.5 miles of trails popular with hikers and trail runners. More than 60 spikes were found along a 2-mile section of trail, said town manager Paige Roberson Dowling.
One person was injured and another landed on a spike that pierced his shoe.
Sylva police and other city staff and volunteers spent three days blowing leaves off the trails and using with metal detectors to locate the spikes.
“It was a deliberate effort. Someone hammered 4-inch long galvanized nails and left them sticking out a half- to 1 inch, and at an angle so they’re like spikes,” said Brian Barwatt, race director of the Assault on Black Rock, a 7-mile trail race scheduled for March 18 in Pinnacle Park.
Barwatt said that after the exhaustive search for spikes, runners and hikers should be assured that the trail is now safe.
The incident will have no effect on the race, he said, which takes place on the West Fork and East Fork trails that form a 7-mile loop leading to Pinnacle and Black Rock summits.
Police are offering a $1,000 reward leading to information about the person or people who planted the spikes.