Found Deceased NC - Mitzi Sue "Susan" Clements, 53, hiker, Great Smoky Mountains NP, 25 Sept 2018

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Betty P said:
I knew this sounded familiar. I was just recently reading about the case of Trenny Gibson, age 16, who went missing there in 1976 while on a field trip with her class. Similar situation, she was walking back to the parking lot with a group of friends, walked ahead of them. Someone saw her bending down to look at something on the side of the trail and no one saw her again.

TN - TN - Trenny Gibson, 16, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 8 Oct 1976

I hope they find Mitzi ok. While Clingman's Dome is a popular tourist attraction, it seems once you're off the trail it's very difficult terrain, easy to get lost and lots of animal predators around.
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I think there was a thread here named people missing in the smokies. I think I read about her there
 
As of Monday, Campbell said, searchers have hiked more than 500 miles on trails looking for Clements. In addition, experienced search personnel, canine teams, and drones with specialized search-and-rescue equipment have been used to conduct more intensive off-trail “grid-searches” of approximately 10 square miles in the steep, rugged terrain that straddles the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
One week after a hiker went missing in Great Smoky Mountains, searchers have no clues
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Stunned said:
I think there was a thread here named people missing in the smokies. I think I read about her there
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In this video from a few years ago about Trenny, a retired park ranger/rescuer talks about how difficult it is to search that area. He said many, many people have gone missing up there, but they usually find them ok.

 
Betty P said:
In this video from a few years ago about Trenny, a retired park ranger/rescuer talks about how difficult it is to search that area. He said many, many people have gone missing up there, but they usually find them ok.

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Wow. That gives me chills. I was much older at the time Trenny went missing, but I too was a Jethro Tull fan. The park ranger is cool. You can tell from his words how true he knows the dog’s scent was. I love dogs. No wonder they are man’s best friend. And boy’s and girl’s and women’s too.
 
imstilla.grandma said:
Wow. That gives me chills. I was much older at the time Trenny went missing, but I too was a Jethro Tull fan. The park ranger is cool. You can tell from his words how true he knows the dog’s scent was. I love dogs. No wonder they are man’s best friend. And boy’s and girl’s and women’s too.
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Yeah, he really knows his job and the mountain very well. It's encouraging that, while so many people have gotten lost, nearly all are found. Hoping they find Mitzi soon.
 
Silly question, but I haven't seen anything posted in the thread yet about this- have they used thermal imaging to try and find her? If she was alive, I would think this too would be helpful in locating her quicker. It's been six days, but she could be still alive if she found a water source and was able to eat some of the plants there. I feel bad for this woman- she sounded like she was very close to the parking lot, right? Almost at the end of her hike? Did she turn around and go back up the trail because something caught her eye, or maybe she dropped something?
 
imstilla.grandma said:
As of Monday, Campbell said, searchers have hiked more than 500 miles on trails looking for Clements. In addition, experienced search personnel, canine teams, and drones with specialized search-and-rescue equipment have been used to conduct more intensive off-trail “grid-searches” of approximately 10 square miles in the steep, rugged terrain that straddles the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
One week after a hiker went missing in Great Smoky Mountains, searchers have no clues
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This article has the daughter's story a little bit different:
"She and her daughter were on their way back from Andrews Bald, a 1.8-mile hike each way. Campbell said her daughter wanted to climb up to the Clingmans Dome Observation Tower, and because she was hiking faster, she told her mother she would go ahead and then meet her back at the parking lot."
It also says last seen a half mile from Andrews Bald which is the outward end of the hike, so about a mile and a half from the parking lot.
 
Rockfarmer said:
This article has the daughter's story a little bit different:
"She and her daughter were on their way back from Andrews Bald, a 1.8-mile hike each way. Campbell said her daughter wanted to climb up to the Clingmans Dome Observation Tower, and because she was hiking faster, she told her mother she would go ahead and then meet her back at the parking lot."
It also says last seen a half mile from Andrews Bald which is the outward end of the hike, so about a mile and a half from the parking lot.
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Yes. It’s the first I remember reading about wanting to climb up to the observation tower.

“The daughter, who is 20 years old, reported Clements missing shortly after hiking ahead and losing sight of her mother, according to park spokeswoman Julena Campbell.

"They were fairly close to the parking lot there," Campbell said. "There are a number of trails that kind of take off from that general area, so I’m sure the daughter spent a little bit of time looking around the area before she alerted the park."
Amid rain and fog, crews search Smokies for Ohio woman missing since Tuesday
 
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Here is a screenshot from google maps. The red marker is on Andrews Bald. So the daughter would have a mile and a half back to the parking lot and then a half mile to the tower. All uphill. Then back down to the parking lot a half mile. And evening coming on before she would realize anything was wrong.
 

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Rockfarmer said:
Here is a screenshot from google maps. The red marker is on Andrews Bald. So the daughter would have a mile and a half back to the parking lot and then a half mile to the tower. All uphill. Then back down to the parking lot a half mile. And evening coming on before she would realize anything was wrong.
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Yes, good analysis. Was just looking at that myself. The parking lot is between the Clingman's Dome (scenic view tower) and Andrews Bald. It would have taken the daughter a while to realize her mom was missing.

If she went off the trail or the wrong direction for any reason, it would be very easy to get lost or turned around.

Here's a link to a woman who was rescued after 6 days in Montana wilderness after she took a wrong turn while walking her dog.

Female hiker found alive after six days lost in wilderness | Daily Mail Online
 
Years ago, a friend and I were hiking the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire. It was in the fall, and we started what we thought was going to be a mile hike up and a mile back. Well, some little devil thought it would be funny to switch ground markers, and quite a few of us ended up on a hike that was at least 3 miles in length- we thought perhaps it was a loop, hence why we kept on going. There were three markers indicating where to go to continue the trail you chose, so we kept following it like many others. Well, when we walked back, it was dusk and we still had another mile to go at least to get back to the parking lot. We were lucky, we were amongst several other hikers that had flash lights and I had a lighter with me just in case we needed it. That last mile was very eerie and spooky, and my poor friend was scared to death, and had a death grip on my arm for the entire mile back. Just as we got to the parking lot, it got completely dark. So grateful we weren't alone that day (it was a gorgeous fall day- warm and windy!), but it makes me wonder, did Sue get lost herself? With it being fall now, it gets darker earlier, and what seems like a simple hike can be a nightmare to navigate once dusk starts setting in, and then darkness.
 
Rockfarmer said:
Here is a screenshot from google maps. The red marker is on Andrews Bald. So the daughter would have a mile and a half back to the parking lot and then a half mile to the tower. All uphill. Then back down to the parking lot a half mile. And evening coming on before she would realize anything was wrong.
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I’m confused. There’s no way they could have lost sight of each other for only twenty minutes in this scenario, right?
ETA: I just had a thought. MOO and just a thought! What if daughter had told mom she was going to the tower, but after getting back to the car, daughter decides she doesn’t want to go to the tower after all (perhaps not feeling well as mentioned in FB rumor.) Mom doesn’t see daughter in parking lot and decides to head toward the tower to try to catch up with daughter. Daughter misses seeing mom in the parking lot. Daughter assumes mom never made it back from the bald, but mom had actually come back and went off in search of daughter on a completely different trail. That would account for the “twenty minutes” thing. Gosh, I hope they’re searching the right trail!
 
We live at sea level and hiked from the parking lot up to the observation tower at Clingman’s Dome two years ago. We are all in reasonably good shape and we struggled really hard to walk that single paved mile at that altitude. My daughter is a competitive dancer and is in amazing shape and she barely made it. We were out of breath, dizzy, and sweating profusely. You would never know how hard that trail is to look at it, and that’s only the “easy” paved portion.
 
LaylaD said:
The Natioanl Park Service press release/update from today (no new info):
Park Continues Extensive Search for Missing Woman - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
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Thanks for that article, LaylaD! Snipped and BBMFF:

Susan Clements was last seen on the Forney Ridge Trail approximately ¼ mile from Andrews Bald on Tuesday, September 25 at 5 pm where she was hiking with her daughter before the two separated with a plan to meet back at the Clingmans Dome parking lot.

Anyone who saw Clements on Tuesday afternoon or since then is asked to contact the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch through one of the following methods: 1-888-653-0009, www.nps.gov/isb and click “submit a tip,” email nps_isb@nps.gov, or via a message on Facebook at “InvestigativeServicesNPS,” or Twitter @SpecialAgentNPS.
_____________________________________

Question: Have park authorities stated whether or not they have had any independent witness sightings of SC in the park either with or without her daughter that day?

Question: Have dogs picked up her scent anywhere?

Observation: Media has reported several varying versions of what the women had agreed upon as far as the meet-up plan after they separated.
 
Pseudonymph said:
We live at sea level and hiked from the parking lot up to the observation tower at Clingman’s Dome two years ago. We are all in reasonably good shape and we struggled really hard to walk that single paved mile at that altitude. My daughter is a competitive dancer and is in amazing shape and she barely made it. We were out of breath, dizzy, and sweating profusely. You would never know how hard that trail is to look at it, and that’s only the “easy” paved portion.
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I'm with you. When hiking Clingman's or Mt. Mitchell (the highest point east of the Mississippi at roughly 40 above Clingman's), I sometimes get dizzy and have intestinal/stomach issues, although I live at 2400 feet and hike in the mountains frequently. I have to go off trail sometimes for the intestinal issue. (Remember, I'm the one who carries toilet paper in her backpack lol - sorry to be gross.)

Anyway, I've only been to Clingman's tower twice in my life and the last time I said I'd never walk up there again. It's a paved trail, as wide as a single road. But the incline is very steep.

I'm praying for a miracle today for Susan. It's been a long, long time to be out there without shelter and water.
 
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