By Kathy Scruggs

Solicitor's body found near hiking trail: `He had a lot of cuts and bruises,' coroner says; no foul play suspected

Cleveland, Ga. - The body of an Atlanta Traffic Court solicitor who disappeared a week ago was found Tuesday 1,000 feet below a rugged North Georgia hiking trail where he had left his backpack and set up camp.

Walter K. "Ken" London, 55, of Marietta disappeared March 30 after leaving for work and kissing his wife goodbye, family members said. But he called into work sick, complaining of an ailing eye, and didn't show up, Traffic Court officials said.

He left his wedding band, insurance papers and a note in his office, according to Atlanta police. The note's contents were not released.

Al Rosenfield, Mr. London's brother-in-law, said the GBI is studying the note and "even the GBI said it didn't make sense."

Mr. London's body - dressed in a T-shirt, thin outer shirt, pants and boots - was spotted from a helicopter Tuesday morning, said White County Sheriff Neal Walden. There were no signs of foul play.

"He had a lot of cuts and bruises," said White County Coroner Ricky Barrett. "It looked like he had taken a fall. He had cuts on his upper arms and forehead. That's all of the visible injuries we saw on him."

Federal and state law enforcement officials said they were investigating allegations that Mr. London had removed drunken driving offenses in exchange for payments from defendants. But they said the investigation was in a preliminary stage and Mr. London had not been contacted by them.

"There were no warrants, no indictments forthcoming," a federal official said. "We had some allegations and we were starting to look into them."

Mr. Rosenfield said Tuesday that there were no clues of anything amiss in Mr. London's life.

"The night before this happened, he was rolling around on the rug with his grandchild," Mr. Rosenfield said. "He just kissed his wife [March 30] and told her that he loved her and that was it."

He said Mr. London frequently helped out with charitable causes, including fund-raising for high school football booster clubs. Mr. Rosenfield said that rather than receiving gifts on his birthdays, Mr. London requested that family members and others make donations to charity - including a recent birthday when the beneficiary was an orphanage.

"It wasn't little amounts either, it was thousands and thousands of dollars," Mr. Rosenfield said.

Mr. London was not a frequent camper but had been camping enough that "he could survive out there," Mr. Rosenfield said.

His backpack, containing some clothing, was first spotted by hikers Saturday who became concerned after seeing it again at 3:30 p.m. Sunday along Whitney Gap Trail, near Hog Pen Gap off the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway, Sheriff Walden said.

"It's pretty treacherous through there - a lot of rocks and cliffs," Sheriff Walden said.

"We're still clueless as to what happened up there," Mr. Rosenfield said, adding the family believes it was an accident.

Correspondent Steve Whitmire and staff writer Doug Payne contributed to this article.

Solicitor's death ruled `unusual' suicide: Body was found near hiking trail

By Kathy Scruggs

An Atlanta Traffic Court solicitor whose body was found earlier this month near a rugged North Georgia hiking trail committed suicide, officials said Tuesday.

Walter "Ken" London, 55, of Marietta died of hypothermia and cocaine intoxication, Deputy Chief Fulton County Medical Examiner Gerald Gowitt ruled.

"It's an unusual cause of death for a suicide, but a suicide nonetheless," Dr. Gowitt said. "The bottom line is, I think he went up there intending to die. Whether it was falling off a cliff, freezing to death, taking cocaine or shooting himself - it doesn't matter."

Mr. London's body was found April 6 in White County below a treacherous stretch of Whitley Gap Trail off the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway about a week after he disappeared.

Federal and state law enforcement officials said that an investigation had recently been launched to check allegations that Mr. London was removing drunk driving offenses from defendants' records in exchange for payments. Officials said evidence indicated he knew of the investigation.

Mr. London disappeared March 30 after leaving for work and kissing his wife goodbye. In the days leading up to that, he had given away treasured belongings, Dr. Gowitt said.

"He leaves a note," Dr. Gowitt said. "That says a lot to me."

The note read, "I'm sorry, but I'm more valuable to you this way," Dr. Gowitt said. It contained instructions about money in his pension fund and vacation time owed.

Dr. Gowitt said toxicology tests could not determine how much cocaine Mr. London ingested but "he had been taking cocaine most of the day."

Mr. London also had partially undressed when his body was found, Dr. Gowitt said.

"It was very cold," he said. "Once he takes his clothes off in weather that is about freezing, it doesn't take too awfully long to die - a few hours."

Further tests will be necessary to determine what killed Solicitor Walter "Ken" London, whose body was found near a hiking trail in North Georgia, officials said Wednesday.

Deputy Chief Fulton County Medical Examiner Gerald Gowitt said he will delay ruling on the cause of death - and whether it was an accident, suicide, natural death or homicide - until completion of lab tests, which he hoped to have within two weeks.

"The whole case is pending toxicology and further investigation, " Dr. Gowitt said. "It's too fresh to jump to conclusions at this time."

A small amount of a white powdery substance, found in the area where the body was located Tuesday, is being analyzed as possible cocaine, officials said.

Mr. London's body was found Tuesday in White County, about 1,000 feet below a treacherous stretch of Whitney Gap Trail, near Hog Pen Gap off the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway. There were no signs of foul play and only cuts and bruises were evident on his body, indicating a fall, said White County Coroner Ricky Barrett.

Mr. London had disappeared March 30 after leaving for work and kissing his wife goodbye. But he called in sick for work complaining about his ailing eye, traffic court officials said.

He left behind insurance papers and a note. A wedding ring was seen in his office, but Dr. Gowitt said Mr. London was wearing a wedding band.

Federal and state law enforcement officials said that an investigation had recently been launched to check allegations that Mr. London was removing drunk driving offenses from defendants' records in exchange for payments.

John Bankhead, Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman, would not discuss details of the note Mr. London left for his family but said it "made sense to the agents working the case and all the factors will be taken into consideration when investigating the manner of death."