Man held in Yosemite slaying

The Associated Press

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- A motel maintenance man was detained for questioning Saturday in the decapitation of a naturalist in Yosemite National Park, and the FBI hinted at a possible link with the slaying of three park sightseers earlier this year.

Cary Stayner, 38, was taken into custody by federal authorities Saturday morning at a nudist colony in Wilton, Calif., near Sacramento, said a Sacramento County source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Stayner was last seen Thursday night by friends and coworkers at the Cedar Lodge in El Portal, a community at the western edge of the park where he works as a handyman.

Park rangers on Thursday found the body of 26-year-old Joie Ruth Armstrong about four miles from Cedar Lodge.

James Maddock, FBI agent in charge, confirmed at a news conference Saturday that someone had been detained in connection with the case, but wouldn't identify who it was or provide further details.

Maddock said no arrests had been made but he anticipated a "significant announcement" to be made at a news conference Sunday at Sacramento's FBI headquarters.

He also backed off of a statement he made Friday that there was no evidence linking this case the slayings earlier this year of three Yosemite sightseers.

"I am not going to comment on whether there is a link at this time," he said. "In the last 24 hours I have received additional information that may cause me to modify my statement." He wouldn't comment on the matter further.

Patty Sailors, whose husband manages the Laguna Del Sol clothing- optional resort, said a man identifying himself as Stayner checked in Friday night.

A visitor recognized Stayner from news reports and called the FBI, Sailors said. Stayner, who wasn't a member of the resort but had visited there several times, was taken into custody about 9 a.m., she said.

The body of Armstrong was discovered a few hundred yards from the park housing she shared with a man and woman, who were away at the time. A park official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Associated Press the woman had been decapitated.

Armstrong initially was reported overdue by a friend she was driving to visit in Sausalito, just north of San Francisco. She was last seen alive Wednesday at the park offices of Yosemite Institute, where she worked.

Maddock said there was no indication the victim knew the person who was detained.

El Portal is the town where Eureka residents Carole Sund, her daughter Juli, and family friend Silvina Pelosso of Argentina were last seen alive in February during a sightseeing trip. Their bodies were found a month later. No one has been charged in connection with the case.

Copyright 1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.