A body was reported found on the Appalachian Trail Labor Day near Roan Mountain, TN. Now a preliminary autopsy report indicates that 53-year-old David Ladley Swanson, died from cardiac arrest. His body was taken to East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine in Johnson City for an autopsy. According to officials, Swanson’s body was found about 2 p.m. on Monday, September 2nd about 3.5 miles from Carvers Gap on Roan Mountain. Swanson’s route had taken him from U. S. Highway 19E in Roan Mountain north bound on the trail, an area that is extremely popular with hikers, particularly on weekends. Swanson was a resident of Durham, North Carolina.
