Just in: 5 missing persons cases remain unsolved in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Thousands of people are reported lost or missing in national parks every year and there are a few missing persons cases of people who disappeared in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that remain unsolved years later.

National Park Service spokesperson Cynthia Hernandez spoke with 6 News on Thursday to explain more about missing or lost persons cases in national parks. She explained that through July 22 of this year, more than 2,200 people had been at the center of search and rescue incidents in national parks in 2024.

That number, which includes data from the more than 400 national parks nationwide, she said includes cases where a child is temporarily separated from their parents and is reunited with them at a visitor center as well as more complex, multi-day searches. She explained that the vast majority of the people who are considered lost in national parks are quickly reunited with their families by rangers.

The National Park Service has a list of the 25 “cold cases” on its website, and only four are missing persons cases from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While four of 25 may feel like a high percentage, the park with the most missing persons cases on the list is Yosemite National Park, which has 10 entries on the list. Hernandez said that as long a case is open, there is still an operation in progress to find them even though it may look different than a search for someone who might go missing today.

Learn more about the cases involving people who disappeared inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park below.

Dennis Lloyd Martin