Nearly a year has passed since an unknown assailant ambushed and fatally attacked a 57-year-old biker along the Raleigh greenway.

Now, two months from the first anniversary of the brazen attack on Chauncey Weinkoop Depew, Jr., investigators hope that bringing the case back to the public spotlight will jog someone’s memory and lead to an arrest. So far, no one has been charged.

The attack happened around noon on August 20 along Walnut Creek Trail near the 1800 block of South Saunders Street, where Depew was riding his Kona trail bike.

The man known as “Chip” had recently become a grandfather, according to his obituary.

“He was excited to share his many passions with his grandson, just as he had done with his children,” it reads.

Frederick Lowe, Jr., a 39-year-old JetBlue pilot, was biking along the trail when he happened upon Depew shortly after noon and called 911.

Lowe told the INDY that he was riding eastbound on the trail, heading down a descending turn, when he first saw Depew’s bike and blood on the ground. Depew was also on the ground, a short distance away.

“I ran over and asked him, ‘Hey buddy, are you OK?’” Lowe said. “He was conscious and making inaudible noises.”

Lowe said Depew’s head was bloodied, and there were scuff marks and blood all over his body.

The airline pilot, who rode the trail once or twice a week at the height of the pandemic, said he first thought Depew had taken a nasty fall, owing to a blind spot on the descending turn that gives way to a four-foot retaining wall.

“I thought he had wiped out in the turn and hit the wall,” Lowe said. “Nothing stuck out to show that he was attacked.”

Lowe said a Raleigh detective contacted him a couple of hours later and told him the wounds inflicted on Depew’s body indicated he was attacked.

Lowe noted that the greenway is a place often frequented by families with children, and he’s grateful that he found him—not someone riding the trail with young ones.

“I wouldn’t want little kids to come across what I saw,” he said.

Paramedics rushed Depew to WakeMed hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

Days after Depew’s death, members of the Raleigh City Council rejected a police department request for a new parks and greenways patrol unit that would have begun this year. The request called for six dedicated officers and a sergeant to supervise the unit at a cost of just under $580,000.

The request for a dedicated police presence along the greenway system was granted earlier this month, however, when the city council, by a 6-2 vote, approved a nearly $5 million increase in the police department’s budget that included funding for a greenway patrol team.

On August 30, about 130 cyclists with Oaks & Spokes, a biking advocacy group, held a memorial ride in Depew’s honor. The cyclists gathered at Dorothea Dix Park to begin the six-mile ride, which included a stop at the place where Depew was attacked.

Jennifer Wagner, chair of the city’s Parks, Recreation and Greenways Advisory Board, told the INDY in an email that even though Depew’s slaying was an isolated incident, the city council asked her board, along with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, to “confer and offer a safety review and report on the greenway system late last year due to [the Depew attack] and other concerns.”

Wagner said the discussions resulted in recommendations covering trail safety, maintenance, and wayfinding signage, and those recommendations were approved by her board on June 17.

“Crime, as well as collisions and other potential hazards on the greenway, were discussed,” wrote Wagner, who added that the police department was also involved in the meetings and that officers offered insight into safety and best practices.

“With [the] city council’s decision to add seven officers specifically to parks and greenways, we hope police presence will increase on greenways,” Wagner said. “In addition, there are greenway volunteers who monitor activity and safety on the greenway. This program was less involved during Covid-19, but is picking back up again and they are always looking for volunteers.” 

Attempts to reach Depew’s family members for comment this week were unsuccessful. 

According to his obituary, Depew was born in Tucker, Georgia, graduated from the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech, and worked in the engineering field for over two decades.

The obituary notes that “Chip was admired for his ability to live in the moment and encouraged everyone to live life to the fullest. He will always be remembered for his brilliant mind, inquisitive spirit, and willingness to lend an ear and give advice.”

Raleigh police spokeswoman Donna-maria Harris told the INDY that the investigation of Depew’s slaying continues, and police are urging anyone with information that might assist the investigation to contact Raleigh CrimeStoppers at 919-834-HELP or by visiting RaleighCrimeStoppers.org.

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Follow Durham Staff Writer Thomasi McDonald on Twitter or send an email to tmcdonald@indyweek.com.