The Overlook

On June 21, 1998—Father's Day—a shirtless man wandered the parking lot at Big Witch Overlook on North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway, near the Great Smoky Mountains, carrying a rifle and approaching visitors. Park rangers responding to alarmed calls confronted him, leading to the fatal shooting of Ranger Joseph "Joe" Kolodsky in an incident that exposed risks to park staff and prompted a swift manhunt.

The Confrontation

Around 2 p.m., a Minnesota family at the 4,100-foot overlook spotted the man, who asked for chewing tobacco before pointing his rifle at their car window. The father shoved the barrel away and drove off. Another visitor called 911, describing the shirtless figure as drunk and walking in the road. Rangers Joe Kolodsky and Al Miller, from nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, arrived first around 2:40 p.m. Joe drove past the suspect, then circled back alone to approach him on foot. As Ranger Tony Welch pulled up behind Joe's vehicle and reached for his shotgun, a gunshot felled Joe near his car's door. The suspect fired at Tony, shattering his passenger window; Tony returned fire from cover, reversed his cruiser, and the man fled into shrubs and woods.