Missing Hiker Found By Searchers

NPS Digest is reporting that a man was rescued last week in the Great Smoky Mountains after reporting himself as being lost.

During the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 6th, a 37-year-old North Carolina hiker made several 911 calls reporting that he was lost, cold, and out of food and water. He was not equipped for winter weather, and had only a light jacket with him. The three calls he made were pinged and the last was found to be from Purchase Knob within the park, a site the man frequently visited.

A hasty search of that area was conducted by rangers and volunteers. They found several items thought to belong to the man along with fresh tracks in the snow. The nighttime temperature in the area was in the teens and the wind chill was near zero. While this hasty search was underway, Haywood County deputies conducted searches of the other two GPS points determined from the 911 calls, but he was not found in either area. The search around Purchase Knob continued until 10 p.m. on Wednesday and resumed at first light the next morning. The man was found in good health early that afternoon, walking down a road close to the park’s boundary.

Also assisting in the search were Haywood County Search and Rescue and the North Carolina Search and Rescue Dog Association.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies