At 9:20 on the morning Zoe disappeared, Samuel’s phone had been in the Newfound Gap area. Then it went dark for five hours. When it came online again, it was twelve miles away.
Police searched harder. Fibers from a rare climbing rope in Samuel’s equipment matched material recovered from Zoe’s clothing. Still, detectives wanted something that could connect him directly to James.
They found it behind a hidden wooden panel in Samuel’s basement. A Garmin wristwatch. The strap was broken. Dried blood stained the casing. The watch belonged to James Nelson. Samuel was arrested.
For nine hours, he denied everything. Then investigators placed the watch on the table. Next came the phone records. The fiber results. The magnesium evidence. Samuel stopped looking at the detectives. His shoulders sagged.
When he finally spoke, his voice was almost calm. “I never meant for the girl to be there.” The detective across from him leaned forward. “What did you do to James?”
Samuel stared at the table for a long time. Then he whispered: “I followed them into the mountains.”
She Vanished in the Smoky Mountains With a Professional Guide—21 Days Later, Her Torn Clothes Were Found 8 Miles Off the Trail
