Maryland State Police are investigating the death of a man whose remains were found Wednesday in the forested mountains of western Maryland shortly after a female companion walked out of the woods, suffering from hypothermia, authorities said.
Alexander A. Stevens, 24, of Frostburg, Maryland, was found dead on a logging road, Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said. Stevens' body showed signs of trauma, according to police.
The state medical examiner's office will determine the cause and manner of death, Shipley said. Police say all possibilities are being considered, and nothing has been ruled out at this time.
"We just have a lot of unanswered questions at this point,'' Shipley said in a telephone interview.
Stevens and the woman were last seen together around 5 p.m. Tuesday near a Savage River State Forest trailhead near the rural community of Barton, about 140 west of Baltimore, Maryland Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson said. She said her agency launched a search at about 3 a.m. Wednesday in response to a 911 call reporting them missing.
Thomson said the woman walked out of the woods to a house shortly before 9 a.m., and emergency responders were called. A Maryland State Police helicopter crew spotted Stevens' body shortly thereafter on private property adjacent to the 54,000-acre state forest, she said.
Police have not released the woman's name.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
The pair drove separately to the trailhead area, where both cars were found, Thomson said.
Shipley said Stevens was found near Pine Swamp Road, which is crossed by the Big Savage Mountain hiking trail. The trail there follows a logging road through steep, rocky terrain, according to the website of Garrett Trails, a nonprofit group that promotes hiking in Garrett County.
The night was relatively mild, with overnight lows in nearby Frostburg and Cumberland never dropping below 40 degrees. Live traffic cameras operated by the Maryland Department of Transportation show little snow cover remaining along Interstate 68 after a storm Friday covered the region with up to 6 inches.
