FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — The work of vandals in the New River Gorge National River Area of West Virginia is drawing widespread attention. Officials believe the damage was done in one of the park’s most visited spots on Sunday, August 14th or Saturday, August 13th
The culprits used bright green and orange paint to tag the rock at the Long Point Overlook. The vista is one of the most breathtaking views in the New River Gorge. But now the initials AW (Heart) TK is scribbled across the bottom of all pictures taken of the New River Gorge Bridge from the point.
“This kind of thing is just awful. There’s no point to it and this particular one is obvious and visible. It’s one of the most popular places in the park,” said New River Gorge Chief Ranger Jeff West. “It should never happen in the first place and then when it does people ought to be incensed about it. There’s just no call for it.”
People are incensed. Social media has exploded with anger toward the culprits. The anger is generating a number of leads on suspects. West couldn’t say much about the active investigation, but added they were getting a lot of information and believed it was only a matter of time.
“Somebody knows who did this,” West said. “There’s some friend of somebody who knows who did it and we need to talk to them.”
In the meantime, West said arrangements will be made to remove the graffiti. He feared leaving it in place for too long will only generate more graffiti.
“This rock out there has had some wear, but we’ll need to take a look at it,” he said. “Different techniques are called for depending on what’s growing on the rock and what type of rock it is. We will eventually remove it, but we haven’t yet.”
Anyone wanting to report the incident or has information for authorities they are urged to call the National Park Service at 304-465-6516.