Families seek answers over teen lovebirds found dead in forest with killer on the loose for 15 years

On the fateful date of August 26, 2009, lovebirds Heidi Childs, 18, and David Metzler, 19, both of Lynchburg, Virginia, embarked on what was supposed to be a special romantic date.

Heidi, a sophomore at Virginia Tech, had just made the exciting decision to enroll in the university's pre-med program and shared the news with her parents earlier in the day. David, a student in the prestigious College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, planned to take Heidi to a field in Jefferson National Forest for an evening of conversation and music.

As the sun began to set around 8:25pm, Heidi and David set off in David's 1992 Toyota to Caldwell Fields, a section of Jefferson National Forest located approximately 15 miles from the Virginia Tech campus.

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Caldwell Fields, nestled amidst mountainous peaks and heavily wooded areas, offered a secluded spot for the couple's outing. Cell phone service was scarce in the area, and the couple planned to return early to study.

The following morning around 8am, a man walking his dog made a grim discovery: the lifeless bodies of Heidi and David. David was found in the driver's seat of the car, having been shot through the driver's side window. Heidi's body was discovered outside the vehicle, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the face from a .30-.30 hunting rifle.

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The scene revealed that Heidi's belongings, including her purse, silver Motorola Razr phone, silver Sony Cybershot camera, ID card, Virginia Tech lanyard, and credit card, were missing. The mysterious circumstances surrounding their deaths baffled investigators.

In the years following the tragedy, authorities formed a task force comprising state, local, and federal agencies to solve the case. Despite efforts to gather evidence, including DNA evidence believed to be from the perpetrator and identification of the murder weapon as a .30-.30 rifle, the case remains unsolved for nearly 15 years.

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Heidi and David's families continued to seek closure. In a 2019 press conference, Lieutenant Lyon of the Virginia State Police said that efforts to solve the case were still ongoing and appealed to the public for information. A reward of $100,000 was offered for tips leading to an arrest, with additional support from the FBI, which donated $28,000 toward the cause.

Yet, despite the passage of time, the questions surrounding the murders of Heidi Childs and David Metzler linger, leaving their families mourning, and longing for a resolution.