Up in the mountains in Walhalla, SC, is a twisted tale of mystery and mayhem. Is there a serial killer? Is there a conspiracy? Are all of these cases connected, or are people connecting dots that don't exist?
This story starts on January 2, 2019, with the disappearance of Laura Anders, and it follows this timeline of events:
January 2, 2019 - Laura Anders officially reported missing, last seen in the Mountain West Community
January 28, 2019 - April Jones was found deceased in a shed on Rockcrusher Rd.
February 5, 2019 - Faith Roach reported missing, last seen on the corner of Corey and Coffee St.
February 11, 2019 - Josh Kundolf found dead hanging in his shed
May 26, 2019 - Kevin Craig was found barricaded in a room in his trailer deceased
December 6, 2019 - Tammy Stubblefield went missing, last seen on Moore Ave. wasn't reported missing until January 29, 2020
February 9, 2021 - Renee King was found deceased in a wooded area off Rufus Lane Rd.
February 15, 2021 - Josh Ivester was reported missing, and was last seen on Rockcrusher Rd. in Walhalla
December 7, 2022 - John Evans reported deceased
In this part of the series, we will be discussing Josh Kundolf, and in Part 5 we'll pick up with Tammy Stubblefield.
Josh's life was that of the All-American boy to man: free-spirited, into sports and the outdoors, high energy with a trade certificate. According to VailDaily of Colorado, "Josh was a fun-loving free spirit who loved to ski, snowboard, water ski, dance, sing but mostly bring the party. He was generous with hugs and blessed with many friends from Colorado to South Carolina."
He was originally born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1991 to Jon and Patricia. He played varsity football at Battle Mountain High School in Eagle County Colorado, and he eventually moved to Oconee County, South Carolina. He graduated from West Oak High School and eventually got a Welding Certificate from Tri-County Tech in Westminister, South Carolina.
Josh touched so many people within his short life:
Stephanie Clemons wrote on his obituary page, "Kundolf! I am lost for all words reading this right now! All i can do is cry, like I dont know what happened. I didnt get to say goodbye! You are apart of my positive network for my son BANNER! You were there for me when life was on me at its worst! I love you kundolf and you knew that I loved you and you knew I was your rock! This is hitting me hard, i can barely breathe. You were one of my best friends , you have held me while I cried , you have walked beside me ,no matter what anyone said or thought , you always told me to keep my chin-up and stay strong. You held my hand when I was terrified , you listened to me when I was mad and just needed to vent , or if I was fed up with the bs system and just needed somebody to listen. You never turned your back on me. MY BEST FRIEND && YOU ALWAYS SAID I WAS YOU A1 NIGGAH! LOL ... I HOPE I CAN CONTINUE TO STAY STRONG AND KEEP FIGHTING , YOU WERE PART OF MY REASON FOR CONTINUING TO STAY IN OCONEE AND TO KEEP FIGHTING THIS SYSTEM TO GET MY SON BACK. I LOVE YOU KUNDOLF, now I need you to keep your eyes on me and wrap YOUR WINGS AROUND ME AND KEEP ME IN LINE , WATCH OVER ME and I cant wait till I get to see you again. I pray by GOD taking you away from me and your family , I pray that I dont shut down or that I dont become weak and just give up! I need you and I just cant believe that your gone! I love you so very much! Dont forget about me!"
Kelli Parish, a former teacher of his, had this to say, "As a teacher, there are so many students who pass through your classroom, so many young hearts to care for and minds to try to inspire, that sometimes it’s hard to place faces when you see them again, years later. But not you, Josh. I’d have known you anywhere. You had an inner light that radiated and could light up a room. Things were not always great for you in middle school, but I hope you felt some peace in my classroom. Thank you for your smiles, your bright eyes and eager spirit. We are all rocked by the loss of you and hope you can rest easy now. Travel safe, my friend."
Unfortunately, things took a turn after Josh came back to South Carolina. He allegedly became involved in the drug scene and was eventually found deceased, hanging from the rafters in his shed. But is that it? A happy and carefree young man gets involved with drugs and commits suicide.... Many don't feel that this is what happened.
Some in the Walhalla community have 2 different theories: One is that Kundolf committed suicide because he killed Faith Roach, and the other is that it was made to look like he committed suicide because he knew who killed Roach or that he had become a drug informant.
Kundolf's last Facebook post was February 5, 2019, which is the same day as Faith Roach's last post before she went missing. Some in the Walhalla community also speculate that Faith didn't actually make her last post, and that someone else did. Kundolf was found hanging in his shed on February 11, 2019, just days after her disappearance.
In the days prior to Faith's disappearance and Kundolf's death, Faith reportedly blocked Kundolf from her Facebook.
Others in the community feel that a drug cartel was involved, since Oconee County is on the drug pipeline from Texas up to North Carolina.
It's certainly strange that so many of these people who have come up missing or dead are either connected to or knew of each other. While Walhalla is a small town of about 4K, other towns of this size don't seem to generate this much controversy.
If you have information regarding these cases, please call the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office at 864.638.4111 or submit a tip to Crime Stoppers of Oconee County on their website.
To learn more about the mysterious deaths and disappearances, click the links below. Stay tuned for Part 5.
This Series:
If you are mentioned in our stories and would like to tell your side, please email us at the email below. We would be glad to share your story.
Written By: Jennifer
Sources:
Comments