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He was known as "Bismarck," a genial, thick-bearded hiker who had become a familiar character along the Appalachian Trail over the past six years, and a regular at Susie Montgomery's bed-and-breakfast in a small Virginia town - until the day the FBI showed up.

"I'd say he was one of my favorite guests," said Montgomery, whose four-bedroom Montgomery Homestead Inn offers on its website a place to "forget life's stresses" for a slower, simpler life. "He was a smart man, interesting to talk to; a pleasant personality. All of the other people who stayed here liked him."

He was in his room, she recalled, on May 16 during the annual Trail Days festival that brings thousands of people into tiny Damascus, Virginia, when she responded to a knock on the door. She recounted finding three agents, one holding up a picture of Bismarck. He told her they believed her guest was someone the FBI wanted, she said. Her husband spotted someone guarding the back door.

Soon Bismarck was being led away in handcuffs, and the FBI was announcing the arrest of James T. Hammes, a white-collar crime suspect missing since 2009.

"They allowed me to hug him," she said. "He whispered to me that he was sorry that this happened."

The 53-year-old Lexington, Kentucky, accountant now sits in a southwest Ohio county jail. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial next month in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati on charges that he embezzled nearly $9 million from his Ohio-based employer, an indictment handed up after he had already disappeared, apparently into the 2,200-mile trail stretching from Georgia to Maine.

Court documents indicate there have been negotiations about a plea agreement to avoid trial. Hammes' attorney did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Authorities aren't saying much about what they believe happened to the money or Hammes' whereabouts the past six years. "It's still an ongoing investigation," FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren said.

But Hammes seems to have been hiding in plain sight much of the time since he bolted soon after being questioned about the missing millions.

"I think the most surprising thing about it to me is he had high visibility on the Appalachian Trail," said David Miller of Titusville, Florida, who writes a guidebook called The A.T. Guide and chronicled his own journey in a book, "AWOL on the Appalachian Trail." ''There are thousands of people on the Appalachian Trail every year. Even though I'm in touch with a lot of them, there are a lot of them I never hear about."

But Miller knew about Bismarck, who showed up in photos in hikers' journals and sent Miller notes for his guidebook updates, such as whether a hotel was giving hikers special rates. Hikers posted on social media selfies with Bismarck; one shows a laughing Bismarck in a water gun battle.

"He was a little more gregarious and social than the typical hiker," said Miller, who said Bismarck stopped by his booth to chat at the annual Trail Days festival the day before Hammes' arrest.

Hikers often adopt "trail names" to be known as during their Trail adventures. The significance of the Bismarck name isn't clear; Hammes is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native who was living in Kentucky. During hiker small talk, Bismarck is said to have sometimes told people he had a software company.

Hammes, also a licensed pilot, had credited successful investment in a software company for extra money that paid for scuba diving trips to the Caribbean in the years before his indictment, according to former in-laws who were interviewed for an episode of the CNBC series "American Greed." A fellow hiker has been credited with recognizing Bismarck from the show, leading to Hammes' eventual arrest.

Hammes was Lexington-based controller for the southern division of G&J Pepsi-Cola bottlers. Called by company officials to Cincinnati headquarters in February 2009, he was confronted about missing funds investigators say topped $8.7 million. Authorities say Hammes soon disappeared, leaving behind a wife who would later divorce him and his daughter.

FBI special agent Pamela Matson stated in an affidavit that G&J funds were deposited into an unauthorized account that played off the name of a vendor. Investigators found that Hammes opened the account in 1998, she said. He repeatedly wrote checks to the sham vendor account, then quickly moved the deposits into his own bank account, according to Matson.

Accounts have placed Hammes staying in Maine and northern Indiana when not on the Trail during his time on the lam, although the FBI wouldn't discuss its own findings.

Miller, who is Hammes' age, left his job as software engineer more than a decade ago to hike the Trail. He suggested that while the popular Trail might seem an odd place for a fugitive to show up repeatedly, being Bismarck could have given Hammes a feeling of belonging to something during his life as a fugitive.

"You could speculate that in his situation, he was feeling isolated," Miller said, "and this let him establish some sense of community."

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Man facing $8.7M embezzlement case hid on Appalachian Trail

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He was known as "Bismarck," a genial, thick-bearded hiker who had become a familiar character along the Appalachian Trail over the past six years, and a regular at Susie Montgomery's bed-and-breakfast in a small Virginia town - until the day the FBI showed up.

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it involves swindling and obtaining property by a false pretend for example a lie or a trick

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Forgery involves a false document, signature, or other imitation of an object of value used with the intent to deceive another.

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A former treasurer to the Firestone High School Community Learning Center Parent, Teacher, Student Association has been arrested on forgery charges.

According to Akron police, Stacy L. Walker, 42, of Akron, forged checks from the PTA and deposited the money into her personal bank account during her tenure as treasurer.

The fraud occurred between December 2015 and July 2016. Police say Walker forged a total of $6,671.55. She is charged with theft and forgery.

Walker turned herself in to police Thursday morning.

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Firestone High School PTSA treasurer arrested for forgery

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A former treasurer to the Firestone High School Community Learning Center Parent, Teacher, Student Association has been arrested on forgery charges. According to Akron police, Stacy L. Walker, 42, of Akron, forged checks from the PTA and deposited the money into her personal bank account during her tenure as treasurer.

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With his unwitting victim yards away, veteran con man and ex-stripper Guy Cummings did the felony fandango with her credit cards and purse, cops say.

The accused scammer, with a criminal dance card dating back more than two decades, surrendered Tuesday at the Midtown North Precinct stationhouse to face grand larceny charges.

The 50-year-old former exotic dancer was decked out in a leather jacket, cowboy boots and sported an '80s-style mullet the night he nabbed her purse and coat from a Theater District bar, his victim, Stephanie Ryan, 46, of Brielle, N.J., told the Daily News.

"Like he was some kind of rock star guy," she said.

In the past, authorities said Cummings' methods were far more elaborate - posing as a cop, a CIA agent and a mobster during a run of ripoffs.

His vivid history includes tales of life as a movie actor, dodging a pack of police dogs by hiding in a pond and breathing through a reed, and penning a book and a screenplay about his life, according to a source close to the suspect.

The truth was a lot less colorful than the fictions Cummings spun.

About those police dogs, police at the time said Cummings was actually bitten by one of the pooches and arrested soon after.

After going on the lam in 1994, Cummings billed himself as a real-life Rambo who would never be brought in alive. But police said that was just another bogus role: Cummings surrendered in May 1997 after running out of money and "people to scam" in Arizona.

(Michael Graae/For New York Daily News)

His most recent alleged scam took place inside the Mean Fiddler on W. 47th St. in the early morning hours of Dec. 5, officials said, after Ryan's boyfriend left the pub. When she got up to use the bathroom, Cummings grabbed her purse and her coat and two-stepped away. The bag held three credit cards, a bank card, a cell phone and a wallet, police said. Cops gave a freezing, coatless Ryan a voucher and put her on a train home. "I had nothing, it was horrible," she said. "It was just a nightmare."

She felt better Tuesday night after identifying the suspect in a lineup at the Midtown North stationhouse. "I feel a little at peace," Ryan said.

Cummings was released without bail after being arraigned. "We're confident ... he'll be exonerated," said attorney Kevin Faga.

(Michael Graae/For New York Daily News)

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Con man faces grand larceny charge after taking credit cards

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With his unwitting victim yards away, veteran con man and ex-stripper Guy Cummings did the felony fandango with her credit cards and purse, cops say. The accused scammer, with a criminal dance card dating back more than two decades, surrendered Tuesday at the Midtown North Precinct stationhouse to face grand larceny charges.

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Powerful defenses at their disposable to counter charges prosecutors must be able to prove every element of crime beyond a reasonable doubt

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Burglary is typically defined as the unlawful entry into any structure with the intent to commit any crime inside (not just theft/larceny). No physical breaking and entering is required. Unlike robbery, which involves use of force or fear to obtain another person's property, there is usually no victim present during a burglary.

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LADUE * Police are investigating after a housekeeper reported she was hit in the head during the burglary of a Ladue home.

Police chief Rich Wooten sent an email to residents Wednesday notifying them of the reported break-in and assault on Upper Ladue Road home that day.

The residents left the home around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Wooten said in the message. The housekeeper told police she entered the home around 11:45 a.m. and heard voices coming from somewhere inside the house.

She tried to find the source of the voice and was struck on the head with an unknown object, according to police. Her injuries were not life-threatening.

The woman was not able to give a description of the assailant.

Police did not say whether anything was taken from the home.

Sgt. Ray Hahs said police have not received any leads on suspects yet, but are checking camera footage from nearby homes as a part of the ongoing investigation.

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Housekeeper attacked in Ladue home during burglary, police say

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LADUE * Police are investigating after a housekeeper reported she was hit in the head during the burglary of a Ladue home. Police chief Rich Wooten sent an email to residents Wednesday notifying them of the reported break-in and assault on Upper Ladue Road home that day.

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This occurs when someone destroys or wrecks someone elses property without permission effects my include broken windows, damaged vehicles and much more.

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Most states define extortion as the gaining of property or money by almost any kind of force, or threat of 1) violence, 2) property damage, 3) harm to reputation, or 4) unfavorable government action.

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A 76-year-old Burlington woman accused of extortion was arrested Wednesday.

According to a news release from Lieutenant C.E. Gaddis of the Burlington Police Department, at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 30, employees of Capital Bank at 3466 S. Church Street notified police that a woman, later determined to be Emily Janette Inge, had entered the bank and requested that money be given to her.

Inge alleged that she was forced to make this demand by an unknown male holding another person against their will. The threat was that the hostage would be hurt if the demand was not carried out. The bank did not comply with her request and Inge left business.

After further investigation, police determined that Inge fabricated the alleged events for personal gain. She is currently being held in the Alamance County Jail under a $15,000 secured bond.

The investigation is continuing.

Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact the Burlington Police Department at 336-229-3503 or anonymously to Alamance County-Wide Crimestoppers at 336-229-7100.

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A 76-year-old Burlington woman accused of extortion was arrested Wednesday.According to a news release from Lieutenant C.E. Gaddis of the Burlington Police Department, at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 30, employees of Capital Bank at 3466 S.

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Biology, astronomy, chemistry, physics on FoxNews.com. In-depth natural science news. Headlines from the worlds of biology, astronomy, chemistry and physics.

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acts of arson may consist of setting fire to a property maliciously or burning property with intent

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The taking, with the intent to steal, of;

the personal property of another;

from his or her person or in their presence;

against his or her will;

by violence, intimidation or the threat of force.

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Robbery reported at U.S. Bank in Des Plaines

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A man robbed a bank in Des Plaines early Thursday afternoon, according to the FBI.