This from the Pioneer Press, Wednesday June 5, 1996

Slain St. Cloud woman known for her gifts

Williams an honors graduate and a frequent volunteer 

WAYNE WANGSTAD STAFF WRITER

Julianne Williams was the sort of person who excelled. In high school, she
was salutatorian of her graduating class. She was graduated cum laude from
college. To round things out, she was generous with her time and had
volunteered extensively to help others. 

A native of St. Cloud, Williams, 24, also had a great affection for and
experience in the outdoors -- the setting where she was found dead
Saturday with her throat slashed. 

Williams' hiking companion Lollie Winans, 26, of Unity, Maine, was
similarly killed at a camp site in Shenandoah National Park in the
mountains of Virginia. The women were camping and hiking along the
Appalachian Trail, 101 miles of which runs through the 200,000-acre park.
The slayings were the eighth and ninth in the past two decades eighth and
ninth in the past two decades along the Appalachian Trail, which is hiked
or visited by about 4 million people a year. 

Winans' golden retriever-labrador mix dog, "Taj," was found roaming near
the campsite, according to National Park Service spokeswoman Robbe
Brockwehl. The dog had not been harmed. 

Investigators, including the FBI and Virginia officials, are withholding
other details about the slaying scene. No suspects have been apprehended.
 
Williams and Winans apparently had been dead at least five days before
their bodies were discovered. On May 22, they obtained a back-country
camping permit from the park's Thornton Gap entrance station. The permit
stated they would camp five nights in the park's central district,
which means their last night of camping would have been May 26. They were
last seen alive on May 24. 

On the 27th, they should have packed up and started the trek back to the
entrance. But on Friday, May 31, Shenandoah National Park officials
received a call from Williams' father, Thomas Williams, explaining that
Julianne Williams and Winans failed to return to their homes In Vermont. 

When the women were found, they were still Id their tent, Brockwehl said.
Williams was scheduled to begin work Monday at Vermont's Lake Champlain
research Center, studying the lake's phosphorous levels and working in the
research center museum. She was a 1990 graduate of Cathedral High School
in St. Cloud. In addition to being salutatorian, she was president of the
Student Senate, a member of the National Honor Society, and participated
in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Christian Life Committee and
the school's social justice project. 

She also played on the girl's basketball team, and was co-captain of its
tennis squad. In 1989, she was state Class A doubles champion with Becky
Meyer. "It Is unbelievable. She was an excellent student, she had
wonderful ideals and it is very tough to think of her not being around to
carry them out," said Mary Savina, Williams' geology professor for three
years at Carleton College in Northfield. In addition to being one of
Savina's top students, Williams also became a friend to her professor. The
friendship grew, Savina recalled, "because of her enthusiasm and the very
informed approach she took to her own education. 

She was an active student in contrast to the:
one who sits and just receives." In addition to cum laude honors, Williams
was graduated with distinction in her major field, geology, and was a
member of Sigma Xi, a scientific honorary society. She was a member of the
women's varsity tennis team, and did extensive volunteer work while at
Carleton. 

She was fluent in Spanish and worked with the Latino community
in Northfield. She spent three summers as a volunteer in Madrid, Spain;
Bogata and Nari no, Colombia; and Xilitla, Mexico, according to Savina.
Williams led canoe trips Into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness,
was a counselor at a nature day camp in Northfield and was an outreach
volunteer with the Land of Lakes Girl Scouts Council. "There were a lot of
volunteer activities, as much or more than any student I remember," Savina
said. "She was one of six students who went with me to Greece in 1993 to
do research on geo-archaeology and she followed that up with a term in
Italy working o n its geology." 

Williams and Winans were both affiliated
with Woodswomen Inc. of Minneapolis, which provides outdoor adventure and
education programs for women. Both had worked for the organization last
summer, leading canoe trips to the BWCAW and other wilderness Minnesota
sites, said Denise Mitten, the organization's executive director. She said
both women were outdoor leaders. "I think we have always implored everyone
who goes into the wilderness to take safety precautions, and I am
absolutely certain these two women took safety precautions that anybody
should have," Mitten said. For example, she said Williams left word with
her father when they would be returning. They also had a park permit,
which meant park authorities had an idea of where they were and when they
would return. "We have always encouraged women especially to check with
people know where they are and when they will return." 

From February through April 1995, Williams worked as a Student
Conservation Association aide at Big Bend National Park, which is on the
Rio Grande River in Texas. Williams worked in the parks interpretation
center, issuing back-eountry permits for campers, giving programs to the
public and selecting rock specimens for the museum, said Valerie Naylor,
who heads the interpretation center. "She did a good job. She was
competent and kind of quiet, she was knowledgeable and interested in the
park. We enjoyed having her on the staff as part of our team, Naylor said. 

Williams was one of four children of Thomas and Patsy Williams. Thomas
Williams owns funeral homes in St. Cloud, St. Joseph and Avon. "... even
though she has diet' and is not physically with us, she does and will
always live on with us," her parents said in a prepared statement