A retired Vermont university dean was shot to death on a trail...

Authorities are looking for information to assist them identify the person who killed the cherished educator after a

retired university dean was discovered shot in the head on a hiking route close to the Vermont State University

Castleton Campus, where she had worked.

Honouree Fleming, the wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Powers and the university’s former dean of

instruction, is thought to have entered the trail close to campus around 4 p.m. Thursday and was discovered dead

less than an hour later, according to Vermont State Police.

According to authorities, a medical examiner concluded that Fleming, 77, died from the gunshot wound.

Police said they had no motivation for the death and that it is unclear if it was random or targeted. As of Monday, no

one has been taken into custody.

Vermont State Police declared, “The suspect is armed and dangerous.” The public is asked to stay on the lookout for

any unusual activity or person and to report any suspicious activity to the Vermont State Police at 802-773-9101.

Additionally, tips can be anonymously provided online.

A male with short red hair who is approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall is the “person of interest” that police are

searching for. When last spotted, he was carrying a black bag and sporting a dark grey T-shirt.

For potential information, investigators are requesting that area companies and citizens examine their video footage.

Dan Trudeau of the Vermont State Police said during a press conference on Monday that the agency has received

over 200 tips regarding Fleming’s murder. “Any tip is preferable to none at all,” he stated. He also mentioned that

search and rescue crews were looking for evidence along the trail.

“This kind of case will most likely involve a combination of traditional detective work and modern, technology-based

detective work,” he stated.

Additionally, Trudeau advised the public to “maintain some self-awareness” and be “vigilant.”

“It’s still unclear to us whether the community is in any more danger,” he stated.

Students were excused from class on Monday as the university’s Castleton Campus opened to offer “a supportive

environment for those who wish to come together.” On Tuesday, regular classes will resume.

In a Facebook post, the school said, “Our hearts go out to the members of our community who taught with Honouree

and had her as a beloved teacher during their time at Castleton.”

“Scores of students benefited from Dr. Fleming’s teachings and research. Before she joined Castleton, she was also a

faculty member at Trinity College, Middlebury College, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Honoree

lived in Castleton with her husband, Ron Powers, a Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author,”

the school said.

Powers co-wrote the New York Times best-selling book “Flags of Our Fathers,” which tells the story of the men who

participated in the well-known flag-raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. In 1973, he was also awarded the

Pulitzer Prize.

“Her husband, Ron, as well as her family and friends, have our sincerest condolences. For the Castleton campus and

all of Vermont State University, this is an unfathomable tragedy,” the university declared. “We will really miss

Honouree.”

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