Police have released a sketch of a person who might be connected to the shooting death of a retired Vermont college dean found dead on a walking trail.
Honoree Fleming, 77, was found dead on a trail in Castleton, Vermont, on October 5, ABC News reported. She was found with a gunshot wound to the head in a death that shocked the community.
On Wednesday, Vermont State Police released a sketch of a man that witnesses reported seeing on the trail shortly before Fleming’s body was discovered. The man in the sketch was seen on the Delaware and Hudson Rail Trail around 4:30 p.m. on October 5, just before passers-by found Fleming’s body. Those witnesses described the man as white, in his 20s, with short red hair, and about 5’10” tall. He was seen wearing a dark gray T-shirt and was carrying a black backpack.
Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit leader Capt. Scott Dunlap told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday that the sketch was their “best lead” since they still have no suspects.
“It’s somebody that we want to talk to in regards to her death,” Dunlap said.
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Dunlap added that the sketch is based on multiple witnesses who saw the man on the trail on the day Fleming was found.
“We’ve had witnesses that came across him acting very strangely, oddly,” Dunlap said without providing additional details on what the witnesses found so odd about the person’s behavior.
Castleton Police Department Chief Peter Mantello warned people not to try to apprehend the man themselves.
“Do not confront this person,” he said, according to ABC. “Do not try to do anything on your own.”
Fleming had retired as dean and professor of education at Vermont State University. She would regularly take evening walks along the trail and was doing so when she was killed. Police said Monday they didn’t know if Fleming was targeted specifically or if the community was in danger.
“I recommend to the public to be vigilant, have some awareness,” said Maj. Dan Trudeau, who leads the Vermont State Police’s criminal division, according to the AP. “If you’re out, be with a friend.”
Castleton resident Mary Waite told the AP that she didn’t leave her house much over the weekend after Fleming’s body was found, and has been more cautious about the woods behind her house. Waite, a lifelong resident of Castleton, told the outlet, “We’ve never had anything like this. Not a thing.”