Fort Marcy Park now encloses the old fort and is situated in McLean Virginia  approximately 6 1/2 miles by car from downtown Washington.  The George Washington Memorial Parkway is to the south of the park, and Chainbridge road is to the north of the park. 

The annotated map below shows most of the park.  The outline of the earthen ramparts of Fort Marcy can be seen in this map, as well as Chainbridge road and the George Washington Memorial Parkway.   Some of the homes of Dogwood subdivision, to the west of Fort Marcy Park are also shown on the map as are the tennis courts for the subdivision and an old cabin.

The circled X marks the approximate location where Foster's body was officially discovered on the evening of July 20, 1993.

Annotated Map of Fort Marcy Park

At approximately 3 p.m. on the afternoon of July 19, 1993, just 27 hours before Foster's body was discovered, Ms. Rutherford  was walking towards Fort Marcy when she came upon a man.  The encounter with the man in Fort Marcy Park made such an impression on the young Ms. Rutherford that she remembered the incident and later mentioned it to her parents. 

Four days after Foster's body was discovered, her parents called the Park Police to inform them of their daughter's encounter with the man in Fort Marcy Park. U.S. Park Police Investigator Renee Abt took the call and made notes of the conversation.

Abt's notes reflect that Ms. Rutherford's parents reported that their daughter "saw [a] man walking thru [the] park on Monday [and] thought it was strange". 

Why did Ms. Rutherford think it was 'strange' to encounter a man walking through Fort Marcy park? 

Why did the encounter with the man in the park so impress Ms. Rutherford that she mentioned it to her parents and they later reported the incident to the Park Police?

Perhaps it was the way the man was dressed on a hot and humid summer afternoon that made such an impression on Ms. Rutherford.  Investigator Abt's notes tell us that the man was wearing a white shirt and red tie, but no suit jacket ("dark slacks, white shirt - and red tie . . . no brief case, no jacket w suit") . . .

Perhaps it was the fact that the man wouldn't look at her ("wasn't able to get a good look @ face because he wouldn't look at her") that impressed the encounter in Ms. Rutherford's mind . .  . 

Or perhaps it was a combination of the way the man was dressed, the fact that he wouldn't look at her as well as the location in the park that Ms. Rutherford encountered the man that so impressed Ms. Rutherford. 

For example, a man wearing a white shirt (possibly short sleeved Abt's notes do not indicate the type of white shirt), dress slacks and tie (possibly open at the neck -- Abt's notes do not tell us the state of the tie)  walking on a path near the Fort Marcy Parking lot on a hot and humid day might be slightly unusual, but hardly seems strange enough to register in Ms. Rutherford's mind to the extent that it would warrant a call to the police. 

. . . on the other hand, if Ms. Rutherford suddenly came upon a man dressed in dark slacks, white shirt and tie walking deep in Fort Marcy Park, in an area far from any parking lot, and the man refused to look at her as she approached him,  Ms. Rutherford may have found the encounter odd -- odd enough to call  "strange" and strange enough to report the encounter to her parents and subsequently to the Park Police.

It would be interesting to find out where Ms. Rutherford encountered the man in Fort Marcy Park.
 

However, Investigator Abt did note that at the time of the encounter, the man was on a path that lead to Fort Marcy and Ms. Rutherford was walking toward the old fort ("walking toward Ft. Marcy saw man on path toward Fort Marcy").

Investigator Abt also recorded the relative directions of Ms. Rutherford and the man in the park at the time of their encounter.  Apparently the man crossed from Ms. Rutherford's right to her left as the two approached each other, and their paths were roughly at right angles. 

Abt recorded this information at the bottom of her note, in the form of a drawing:

A scan of the typed version of the interview follows:
 

The interview report says that the encounter took place in the "northeast portion of the park". 

The typed version of the interview also tells us the direction the man was traveling as Ms. Rutherford approached him.  According to the FBI, the man was walking away from George Washington Parkway and into the northeast section of the park. 

Here's how the typed version of the FBI interview puts it (emphasis supplied):

". . . at approximately 3:00 p.m. on July 19, 1993, she [Rutherford] was walking in the northeast portion of the park gaining entry to the park at a spot where the tennis courts of Dogwood subdivision border on Fort Marcy Park.  She related that it was an extremely hot and humid day and noticed at a distance of 10-15 feet a white male walking by himself in a direction leading from the George Washington Parkway into the northeast section of the park."

• The interviewing agent takes handwritten notes during the interview
• The notes are later typed onto an FD-302 form

As per standard procedure, the interviewing agent took notes during the interview with Ms. Rutherford. 

In March of 1996, the handwritten notes of the FBI interview with Ms. Rutherford were obtained by an FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) request initiated by reporter Chris Ruddy. 

These handwritten notes contain a startling notation:

"Location -- by cabin by the tennis courts -- west border of Ft Marcy park -- on path"

. . .  it appears from this notation that the FBI interviewing agent asked Ms. Rutherford where the encounter occurred and that she gave a very specific response, telling the interviewer that she encountered the man the western border of the park near the cabin and the tennis courts; on the same side of the Park that Foster's body was later found. 

The reason that this notation is startling is because the western border of Fort Marcy Park is directly opposite the northeast portion of the park as reported in the typewritten version of the interview.

The map below graphically illustrates the difference between the location of the encounter as described in the FBI handwritten notes of the interview and the location of the encounter as described in typewritten version of the interview:

Curiously, the typed version of the FBI interview seems to have moved the location of the encounter to the opposite side of the park from where Ms. Rutherford reported it, and to the opposite side of the park from where Foster's body was later discovered.

Specifically, if we combine the location information in Investigator Abt's notes with the location information in the typed version of the FBI interview, we arrive at the following description of the location of the encounter:
 

Location Description	Source
Ms. Rutherford was walking toward Fort Marcy	Investigator Abt's notes: "walking toward Ft. Marcy saw man on path toward Fort Marcy"
The man was on a path	Investigator Abt's notes: "walking toward Ft. Marcy saw man on path toward Fort Marcy"
The man crossed from Ms. Rutherford's right to left, as the two approached each other	Investigator Abt's 'crossing diagram':
The man was in the northeast portion of the park	Typed version of FBI interview: ". . . at approximately 3:00 p.m. on July 19, 1993, she [Rutherford] was walking in the northeast portion of the park gaining entry to the park at a spot where the tennis courts of Dogwood subdivision border on Fort Marcy Park.  She related that it was an extremely hot and humid day and noticed at a distance of 10-15 feet a white male walking by himself in a direction leading from the George Washington Parkway into the northeast section of the park."
The man was walking away from the George Washington Memorial Parkway	Typed version of FBI interview: ". . . at approximately 3:00 p.m. on July 19, 1993, she [Rutherford] was walking in the northeast portion of the park gaining entry to the park at a spot where the tennis courts of Dogwood subdivision border on Fort Marcy Park.  She related that it was an extremely hot and humid day and noticed at a distance of 10-15 feet a white male walking by himself in a direction leading from the George Washington Parkway into the northeast section of the park."
The man was walking into the northeast portion of the park	Typed version of FBI interview: ". . . at approximately 3:00 p.m. on July 19, 1993, she [Rutherford] was walking in the northeast portion of the park gaining entry to the park at a spot where the tennis courts of Dogwood subdivision border on Fort Marcy Park.  She related that it was an extremely hot and humid day and noticed at a distance of 10-15 feet a white malewalking by himself in a direction leading from the George Washington Parkway into the northeast section of the park."

But there is no location in the northeast portion of the park that fits this composite description -- every location in the northeast portion of the park contradicts the information in Investigator Abt's notes.

The fact that there is no location in the northeastern portion of Fort Marcy Park that fits the information in Investigator Abt's notes can be easily demonstrated using the 'crossing diagram' from Abt's notes. 

The process is this:

1. Place a copy of the  'crossing diagram' on each of the paths in the northeastern portion of Fort Marcy Park,

2. Orient the diagram such that the line representing the direction of travel for the man is is on a path and the line representing Ms. Rutherford's direction of travel is pointed towards Fort Marcy (just at Abt recorded in her notes -- Ms. Rutherford was "walking toward Ft. Marcy saw man on path toward Fort Marcy")

3. Note that for each  position of the 'crossing diagram' that:

• The direction of travel for the man in the park is not "into the northeast section of the park" as the FBI Reported, but is always away from the northeast section of the park. 
• The direction of travel for the man in the park is not "in a direction leading from the George Washington Parkway into the northeast section of the park",  but always in a direction leading towards the George Washington Parkway.

Even if the angle of the crossing is changed somewhat, the result is the same ... the location of the encounter as described by the FBI interview is impossible, according to Investigator Abt's 'crossing diagram'. 
 

If Ms. Rutherford was walking toward Ft. Marcy and the man passed crossed by her from right to left while he was on this path , then the man was walking toward the GWP, not away from it,  and the man was walking away from the northeast section of the park, not into it.

If Ms. Rutherford was walking toward Ft. Marcy and the man passed crossed by her from right to left while he was  on this path , then the man was walking toward the GWP, not away from it,  and the man was walking  away from the northeast section of the park, not into it.

If Ms. Rutherford was walking toward Ft. Marcy and the man passed crossed by her from right to left while he was on this path , then the man was walking toward the GWP, not away from it,  and the man was walking directly away from the northeast section of the park, not into it.

I Even if we place the encounter on this path (Ms. Rutherford would not be  walking toward Ft. Marcy), the location doesn't fit as  the man would be walking toward the GWP, not away from it,  and the man would be walking directly away from the northeast section of the park, not into it.

This is a curious situation -- the FBI not only seems to have moved the location of the encounter to the opposite side of the park where Ms. Rutherford reported it (the opposite side of the park from where Foster's body was discovered the next day), but have also placed the encounter in an impossible location according to the information in Investigator Abt's notes. 

There is still another problem . . .

Note that the location of the encounter, as described in the FBI typewritten notes of the interview, is not remote at all -- this area is close to the main parking lot and to the parking area off of Chainbridge road.  Encountering a man wearing slacks, a white shirt and tie in this area, while unusual, would not necessarily be considered "strange", even if the man looked away from you when you looked at him.

It seems as though the FBI has moved the location of the encounter from a spot where it would be "strange" to see a man in a white shirt and neck tie, to a spot where it would not be "strange" to see a man in a white shirt and neck tie.

But, if the encounter occurred in a spot where it would not be "strange" to encounter a man in a white shirt and tie, what made Ms. Rutherford notice the man in the first place?

Surprisingly, the FBI tells us that Ms. Rutherford first noticed the man because he was wearing a 'dark suit' as he walked through the park on a hot and humid summer day.  Here is how the typed version of the FBI interview puts it (emphasis supplied):

"She related that it was an extremely hot and humid day ... she stated what caught her attention was that this white male, in spite of the heat, was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and a red neck tie"

How could this be?  How could Ms. Rutherford tell Investigator Abt that the man was not wearing a jacket, and tell the FBI nine months later that "what caught her attention was that this white male, in spite of the heat, was dressed in a dark suit .."? 

Moreover, if the FBI was interested enough in Ms. Rutherford that they took the trouble to interview her, then the FBI must have  read Abt's notes of the phone call, and must have known that Ms Rutherford told Abt that the man was wearing "dark slacks", not a "dark suit".
 

"dark slacks, white shirt and Red tie" ->
 
 
 
 
 
 

Readers can decide for themselves if it is reasonable to believe that four days after the incident Ms. Rutherford told Investigator Abt that the man was not wearing a jacket, yet nine months later told the FBI that  the reason that she first noticed the man was because he was wearing a dark suit. 

Readers who decide that the sudden appearance of the dark suit is unreasonable may come to believe that the FBI first moved the location of the encounter away from the remote section of Fort Marcy Park - away from the side of the park where Foster's body was found - to the opposite side of the park near the parking lot and the parking area on Chainbridge road, and then dressed the man in a suit jacket so as to give Ms. Rutherford a reason notice him. 

Readers who decide that it is quite reasonable to believe that Ms. Rutherford told Investigator Abt that the man was not wearing a jacket and nine months later told the FBI that the reason that the man caught her attention was because he was wearing a dark suit will not have their curiosity piqued.

It all depends on what you consider to be reasonable.

It could also be that the problem arising from Abt's 'crossing diagram' is not really a problem after all.  Perhaps Investigator Abt drew the crossing diagram incorrectly, reversing the direction that the man in Fort Marcy Park crossed Ms. Rutherford's path.  An error of this sort, though unusual, would explain that the location of the encounter in the northeast portion of the park only appears impossible, but really isn't.

It could also be that the sudden appearance of a dark suit on the man in Fort Marcy Park is not really a contradiction with Investigator Abt's notes after all.  Perhaps Abt misunderstood Ms. Rutherford -- perhaps Ms Rutherford actually told Abt that the reason the man caught her attention was the fact that he was dressed in a dark suit, but Abt incorrectly wrote "no jacket w suit" in her notes.  Perhaps, through some sort of error, the FBI never noticed the part in Abt's notes that said the man in Fort Marcy Park was not wearing a suit jacket.

Perhaps, this bizarre FBI interview can be explained as nothing more than a series of odd mistakes. 

Perhaps .  .  . but before we postulate a strange confluence of errors to explain the bizarre FBI interview, it would be interesting to see if there is a location that fits the majority of the information in both the FBI interview material and the information in Investigator Abt's notes. 

In other words, it would be interesting to see if we can find a spot where:

1. Ms. Rutherford would gain "entry to the park at a spot where the tennis courts of Dogwood subdivision border on Fort Marcy Park", as reported in the typewritten version of the FBI interview.

2. Ms. Rutherford would be "walking towards fort", as investigator Abt recorded in her notes.

3. The man would be "walking .. . in a direction away from the George Washington Parkway", as the FBI reported in the typewritten version of the interview).

4. The man would cross Ms. Rutherford's path from her right to left, as Investigator Abt drew on her diagram.

5. Ms. Rutherford  would be  "in park off of Chainbridge road", as the FBI reported in the typewritten version of the interview.

6. Ms. Rutherford would see the man on a path ("saw man on path", as Investigator Abt wrote in her notes).

7. The location of the encounter would be by the cabin and the tennis courts on the west border of Fort Marcy (as recorded in the FBI handwritten interview notes, "Location -- by cabin by the tennis courts west border of Ft. Marcy park -- on path").

This back road lies about 600 feet to the west of the spot where Foster's body was found and terminates by the cabin situated by the tennis courts of the Dogwood subdivision. The  entrance to this road is a driveway to a house at 681 Chainbridge road; the driveway obscures the fact that the road exists. 

The ground between the road and the body site is so densely wooded that the witness who discovered Foster's body, a man who is very familiar with Fort Marcy park,  testified that anyone entering the park via this road "would not be seen, period"¹.

A fence runs along the eastern border of the road, separating it from the legal boundary of Fort Marcy Park.  Near the end of the road the fence is collapsed for several feet providing easy access to the park².  This road is grassed over, and could appear to Ms. Rutherford as a path. 

An encounter between Ms. Rutherford and the man in the park along this road that provides an occluded entry to Fort Marcy Park, is the best fit for all of the location information in Abt's notes and all of the location information in the handwritten notes of the FBI interview and most of the information in the FBI typewritten interview. 

The only information this location does not fit, is the location in the northeast portion of the park, as reported by the typed version of the FBI interview.

The map below, constructed by overlaying the elements of the  'crossing diagram' from Investigator Abt's notes, illustrates this 'best fit' location: 

The image below shows another view of this area of the park -- an aerial photograph. 

The image has been annotated to indicate the body site, the cabin, the tennis courts and the fence line (the red annotation lines indicating the fence are drawn off  of the actual fence line so as to not obscure the fence line in the image).   The gap in the red line indicating the fence that runs in an north northwesterly direction shows the approximate location of the portion of the collapsed fence that allows easy access to the western rampart of Fort Marcy -- the rampart where Foster's body was found: 

Note that while the legal boundary of Fort Marcy is at the fence line, seventeen year old Ms. Rutherford would very likely think of the of park boundary as being the boundary between the subdivision and the wooded area, simply because that is where the woods begin and the subdivision ends.  Ms Rutherford would likely describe any location to the east of the natural border between Dogwood subdivision and the wooded area as being "in the park".

• All of the location information in the FBI handwritten notes, 

• All of the location information in Investigator Abt's note,

• Most of the location information in the typed version of the FBI interview. 

Specifically, if Ms. Rutherford encountered the man at this location or one close to it, then:

1. Ms. Rutherford could have gained "entry to the park at a spot where the tennis courts of Dogwood subdivision border on Fort Marcy Park, just as reported in the typewritten version of the FBI interview.

2. Ms. Rutherford would be "walking towards fort", just as investigator Abt recorded in her notes.

3. The man would be "walking .. . in a direction away from the George Washington Parkway", just as the FBI reported in the typewritten version of the interview). 

4. The man would cross Ms. Rutherford's path from her right to left, just as Investigator Abt drew on her 'crossing diagram'.

5. Ms. Rutherford would be  "in park off of Chainbridge road", just as the FBI reported in the typewritten version of the interview.

6. Ms. Rutherford would see the man on a path -- "saw man on path", just as Investigator Abt wrote in her notes.

7. The location of the encounter would be by the cabin and the tennis courts on the west border of Fort Marcy (just as recorded in the FBI handwritten interview notes, "Location -- by cabin by the tennis courts west border of Ft. Marcy park -- on path").

Exit from the park could be achieved by reversing the above path. 

Interestingly, the witness that officially discovered Foster's body, a man intimately familiar with Fort Marcy Park, indicated in a sworn deposition that there is a nature trail between the western berm of Fort Marcy Park and the collapsed fence near the cabin³.

• Ms. Rutherford was shown a photograph of Foster, but was unable to identify the man in the park as Foster [per the FBI handwritten notes of Rutherford interview and FBI typed version of Rutherford interview]. 

• Ms. Rutherford's description of the man does not fit the description of Foster:

• Foster was 48 years old in 1993, Ms. Rutherford said that the man in the park was in his early 40's [per the FBI handwritten notes of Rutherford interview], 
• Foster was 6'4" tall,  Ms. Rutherford said that the man in the park was 6" tall [per the FBI handwritten notes of Rutherford interview]
• Foster wore glasses, Ms. Rutherford said that the man in the park was not wearing glasses [per the FBI handwritten notes of Rutherford interview and Investigator Abt's notes],
• Foster weighed 200 pounds, Ms. Rutherford said that the man in the park weighed approximately 180 pounds [per the FBI handwritten notes of Rutherford interview].

Alternately (or in addition),  a security video showing Foster's car leaving the White House parking lot on July 19, 1993 at a time that would have allowed Foster to drive to Fort Marcy and be seen with Ms. Rutherford at 3 p.m. would suffice.

However, according to the official investigation, there is no log showing the time that Foster entered or exited the White Hose on July 19, 1993; nor is there a log showing when Foster exited the white  House on July 20. 1993, the day of his death. 

Officially, there are no security videos showing showing the time that Foster's car exited the White House on July 19, 1993; nor is there a video showing when Foster's car exited the White House parking lot then next day -- the day of Foster's death.

The fact that there is no record of the comings and goings of people to one of the most secure buildings in America seems rather curious. 

But apparently that is the official story -- officially Foster is supposed to have been able to wander in and out of one of the most secure buildings in America without any record of when he came or went.

• 27 hours before Foster's body is discovered, seventeen year old Leslie Rutherford is walking toward Fort Marcy when she comes upon a man, apparently not Foster,  walking out of Fort Marcy park on a path that provides hidden access to the site that Foster's body will later be found.

• Not only is the man walking in a remote section of the park wearing a white shirt and red tie, but when Ms. Rutherford looks at the man he immediately turns away from her, as to hide his face.

• This strange encounter with the man in the park so impresses Ms. Rutherford that she tells her parents about it.  Four days after news of Foster's death is broadcast, the parents call the park police and Ms. Rutherford recounts her experience to Investigator Renee Abt.  Ms. Rutherford tells Investigator Abt that the man was wearing a white shirt and red tie, but no suit jacket.

 
• Nine months after the incident, the FBI interviews Ms. Rutherford and asks her where she encountered the man.  Ms. Rutherford tells the FBI interviewing agent that she encountered the man  "by cabin by the tennis courts west border of Ft. Marcy park -- on path".

• When the typed version of the interview is produced, the FBI moves  the location of the encounter to the opposite side of the park from where Ms. Rutherford reported it  -- to the opposite side of the park from where Foster's body was discovered, far away from the remote location where the encounter actually occurred.  However, this move now places the man in the area next to the Fort Marcy parking lot and the parking area on Chainbridge road -- a spot where it would not be strange to see a man in a shirt and tie.

 
• To account for the fact that Ms. Rutherford would think an encounter in this area was strange, the FBI dresses the man in a dark suit.

By the way, Kenneth Starr completely ignored this entire matter:

• Starr failed to explain why the typed version of the FBI interview with Ms. Rutherford contradicts the location of the encounter as recorded in the FBI's handwritten notes of that interview.

• Starr failed to explain why the typed version of the FBI interview with Ms. Rutherford places the location of the encounter with the man in an impossible location, per the information in Investigator Abt's notes.

• Starr failed to explain why the FBI interview says that Ms. Rutherford first noticed the man because he was wearing a 'dark suit, when Ms. Rutherford told Investigator Abt nine months earlier that the man was not wearing a jacket.

Apparently something has caused a change in the Rutherford's attitude since that Saturday in July of 1993 when they called the Park Police with information they thought would be helpful; had Ms. Rutherford and  her parents 'not wanted to get involved' in July of 1993,  we would never know about this particular falsified FBI interview.

1: Interview of the witness who officially discovered Foster's body (the witness has requested anonymity)   by Congressman Burton,  Mica  and Rohrabacher, July 28, 1994 [2663]
Q. But there is a private road that goes back to that cabin? 
A. There is a private road that goes right back to it from the housing development right next to it. 
Q. Okay. If somebody came back that road they wouldn't be seen? 
A. They would not be seen, period. 
Q. How far is that from the cabin? 
A. 150, 175 yards. 
Q. So they could have walked around that and come right up –- 
A. They are dead in the woods all the way, and there is a path that leads right straight through there, a very well worn walking nature trial.
2: Ibid
3: Opcit

Citations in brackets are to page numbers of the two 1994 Senate Whitewater Hearings Volumes [S. Hrg. 103-889, Volumes I & II] and of the 1994 Report Volume [Rept. 103-433, Volume I].
 

 jc huntington

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