FBI: Man Wanted for Embezzling $8.7 Million Hid in the Appalachian Trail for Six Years
The Appalachian Trail seems like America’s Bermuda Triangle. It’s where horny politicians conveniently go missing. It’s the 2,200 miles of wilderness my boyfriends decide to go when things start to get serious. And for a Kentucky man who left his family and wanted to avoid a near $9 million embezzlement case, it’s a great place to relax for six years, New York Daily News reports.
Life was swell for James Hammes, 53, before the FBI learned of his scent and took him away in handcuffs on May 16 of this year from a Virginia bed-and-breakfast to an Ohio county jail, The Columbus Dispatch reports. Hammes, whose trail name was “Bismarck” has been hiking the Appalachian Trail since 2009 after he was accused of embezzling $8.7 million from his Ohio-based employer, New York Daily News reports. James Hammes, who also ditched his wife and daughter before beginning his journey, sounds like an asshole. However to the friendly hiker trash community, “Bismarck” was a really nice guy who loved selfies and water gun fights.
“He was a little more gregarious and social than the typical hiker,” David Miller, an Appalachian Trail guidebook author told New York Daily News. The FBI was tipped off by a hiker snitch who recognized “Bismarck” after watching an episode CNBC’s series American Greed which he was featured on.
The man, the myth, and the legend of “Bismarck” has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial next month in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, New York Daily News reports.
For a long read of “Bismarck’s” complete adventure, read “A Long Walk’s End” by William Browning on SB Nation.
[Image via Butler County Jail]