ATLANTA (AP) – A vicious attack on a female jogger is fueling discussion of safety on the nation’s longest paved trail, which stretches more than 90 miles from Atlanta’s northwest suburbs to Anniston, Alabama.
Along the Georgia section of the path, known as the Silver Comet Trail, police say the 42-year-old woman was lapsing in and out of consciousness when she was found by a passing bicyclist in the early evening Tuesday. No arrests have been made.
Last week’s attack happened not far from the spot where bicyclist Jennifer Ewing of Sandy Springs was ambushed during a bike ride along the trail in the summer of 2006. Michael Ledford was convicted of murdering her and is now on Georgia’s death row.
“Anything they do out there would be better than nothing,” said Ewing’s sister, Paige Slocumb of Macon.
The Silver Comet passes through remote areas of the Georgia countryside, and a website for trail visitors warns that cellphone coverage is spotty in some areas.