TN TN - Disappearances in the Great Smokey Mountains

[reb]

mattsmom-- interesting. just goes to show how easily one can get disoriented in the woods. you really are lucky you made it out of there alive!
i wonder if the trails that trenny & polly were on had forks in them, and if all the possible routes they might've taken had been searched thoroughly?
i've been trying to imagine what it would be like to realize that you may have taken the wrong trail, and were hurrying trying to catch up til you slowly realized that your friends weren't ahead of you after all. by that time it would be getting dark and panic would set in, and you may try to leave the trail to find a shortcut back... and get even more lost. this is the only real logical reason i see this could happen, because why else would you wander into the woods so far, for no reason??
i also think a similar scenario may have happened with the tragic case of the missing boy scout, garrett bardsley. it's just so unbelievable..... he just turned around & was walking back to camp where he came from- which was about 150 yards away, on an obvious path! i just can't wrap my brain around it.

in an online blog discussing the brennan hawkins case (the one who was found alive after a few days).. the writer says "teach your children: if you get lost, sit down, calm down, and stay put. running around in the woods is what gets people killed." he includes a good briefing of what to do (for kids, and anyone really) if you get lost in the woods:
http://www.equipped.com/kidprimr.htm

i also wonder if people who get lost enough actually bury themselves..... i.e., if the temperature drops they are going to try to make a crude shelter out of limbs & boughs.. and by the time rescuers come looking for them, they have perished and then as the weeks/months go by, they are covered in more leaves, more branches, and the whole thing compressed under the weight of snow & rain, and eventually where they were just looks like a very shallow flat lump that kind of blends in with the terrain. if they don't have any kind of bright-colored clothing outside of their shelter, then no one would ever know they were there.
the case of carole wetherton and her daughter kimberly bevelry made me think in this direction. http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.asp?storyid=49047

 

[Bluecat]

Don't forget the Chandra Levy case. It was a year before her remains were found. It turned out that she had gone into a much more remote area of the park than expected. So it's possible that any or all of these people could have continued walking for much further than expected, if they got lost.

There is a trails map available on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park website, assuming that the current trails are similar to what existed historically, it is possible that they got onto another trail but more likely that they got off trail completely, and then just kept walking, or were concealed under brush. In all cases, it looks like there are streams in the bottom land to one side or the other of the trail, down slope.

The mine idea is interesting. There are known caverns in the area; I saw that there are over 8,000 caves that have been registered in the state - no idea how exactly they are distributed, but there are a couple of caverns run as tourist attractions in the region.

 

[reb]

me too, but who is there to look into it? is anyone even still investigating those cases? i am surprised the searchers didn't think of it back then (or maybe they did?) someone somewhere has got to have maps of known abandoned mines and caverns in the area.
i talked to a lady i work with who goes caving & she says there are definitely caverns in mountainous areas.
i imagine it would be pretty impossible though to find these people if this is what happened.. because there's probably 'bubbles' of underground space that are unreachable by other caverns. i'm sure that cavers would have found them by now if they were in an known, reachable area.

i asked my co-worker if she ever heard about people's remains being found in caves, and she said yes but usually they are very old, or they are animal bones.

i'm still fasincated by this idea though. but it seems that these people will only be found when time, weather & erosion reveal them. somehow the theory of abduction doesn't seem right.. their friends probably would have heard a scream (maybe). well, maybe for trenny, but not for polly- as creeps usually kidnap young girls. it seems the idea of getting on the wrong trail, getting more & more lost in the woods, dying of exposure & falling into a hole or dying while sleeping under a shelter and becoming buried over time- seems to fit... IMO.

regarding these cases.. i know they are pretty old & the families have moved on with their lives,, (or maybe deceased), but i have to wonder.. are they are still working on solving the mystery of their lost loved ones after all these years?? at some point in time, do you just say goodbye, and not think about it anymore?

 

[mysteriew]

I lost a brother many years ago. I know what happened to him, I know he isn't alive. I and the rest of my family moved on, but we still think of him often. To have lost a child and not know what happened to them, I would have to think that it would take much much longer to move on, and I would have to believe they think of them frequently and still wonder what happened, though they might not be able to spend every day searching.

 

[Pandora]

My great-uncle was listed as MIA in WW2. Until they died in 1973 and 1975, my great-grandmother and grandmother were waiting for him to come home. Sadly, the Navy learned very quickly what happened to his sub via a Japanese POW, but they chose to classify the information. We now know that the sub was sunk (unarmed going to rearm) by an large group of Japanese Navy vessels. We even know the day and exact location. I have no idea why the Navy thought it was so important to keep this quiet for so many years when it would have given my family so much peace to know.

People are loved. Somewhere, someone is grieving still.

 

[Richard]

My great-uncle was listed as MIA in WW2. Until they died in 1973 and 1975, my great-grandmother and grandmother were waiting for him to come home. Sadly, the Navy learned very quickly what happened to his sub via a Japanese POW, but they chose to classify the information. We now know that the sub was sunk (unarmed going to rearm) by an large group of Japanese Navy vessels. We even know the day and exact location. I have no idea why the Navy thought it was so important to keep this quiet for so many years when it would have given my family so much peace to know.

People are loved. Somewhere, someone is grieving still.

The Navy did classify many actions and incidents Secret during World War II. There were many reasons for this. Your family was likely notified that your uncle was Lost at Sea, or Missing in Action within a reasonable time afterward, and may well have been told that the information regarding the action was classified.

Most of the World War Two SECRET classifications were downgraded in the years which followed the end of the war. I have found many such documents in the course of military research. They are still marked SECRET, but also have a downgrading stamp somewhere near it the origional marking.

The Navy (and all of the other branches of the service) have a policy of NOT making further (later) contact with family of deceased service members, unless there is some compelling reason to do so. An example would be the recovery of remains and their positive identification.

There was a book published by the Navy after WW II which lists all submarine losses and their crews. You would likely find your uncle listed there.

 

[Pandora]

Thanks, Richard.
A man actually decided to research the USS Grayback and through the FOIA obtained enough information to write a book. We all bought copies as soon as we heard about it. As big as our family is, I'm surprised it did not end up on a best-seller list!

 

[scandi]

Just wondering if there are any canabalistic old men living in cabins out in those backwood. I saw a movie one time about these teens who got stranded after car trouble and stumbled on a shacky house where 3 old canibals lived. It was so scary, but maybe there really are people like this out there!


Scandi

 

[Trino]

I'm joining the conversation because I've hiked the Appalachian Mts. Crazed individuals don't always have to live in an area open to hiking. As recently as 20 years ago, you could trust a fellow hiker. Today that just isn't the case.

If I recall correctly, several years ago two young women were killed at their campsite while on the Appalachians, and it wasn't a four legged creature who did this. The murderer(s) has never been found. Crime isn't just limited to cities anymore. But, of the people who go to the Smokeys or Appalachians, most come out.

 

[MaryLiz]

I'm joining the conversation because I've hiked the Appalachian Mts. Crazed individuals don't always have to live in an area open to hiking. As recently as 20 years ago, you could trust a fellow hiker. Today that just isn't the case.

If I recall correctly, several years ago two young women were killed at their campsite while on the Appalachians, and it wasn't a four legged creature who did this. The murderer(s) has never been found. Crime isn't just limited to cities anymore. But, of the people who go to the Smokeys or Appalachians, most come out.

I just saw something on TV about those 2 women murdered in the Appalachians. They were Julianne Williams and Lollie Winans. Here is a website that has a ton of articles about it, even the arrest of a suspect and eventual dismissal of charges against him.

http://members.aol.com/femnet/unsolved.htm

 

[Lurker Steve]

me too, but who is there to look into it? is anyone even still investigating those cases? i am surprised the searchers didn't think of it back then (or maybe they did?) someone somewhere has got to have maps of known abandoned mines and caverns in the area.

Not necessarily - I have a friend who is a geologist for the county, and says they're always finding illegal mines, usually old ones. It would be pretty easy to fall into one.

 

[Trino]

So, is the suspect in Julianne and Lollie's murder still in prison? If the last article is correct, he should be released soon if he already hasn't been. Scary thought.

 

[MaryLiz]

So, is the suspect in Julianne and Lollie's murder still in prison? If the last article is correct, he should be released soon if he already hasn't been. Scary thought.

He may be in for a little while...I posted the link to the last article I could find about him below. Apparently in August 2005 he received a 14 month sentence for abducting someone else. It says that sentence was to be served concurrently with the 135 month sentence he got for another crime, which said he wouldn't get out until mid-2007. Still, that is way too soon even for his other crimes. But apparently the charges against him for the murders or Julianne Williams and Lollie Winans were totally dropped. It still is definitely a scary thought, even if he isn't released until next year!

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/082005/08252005/124740

 

[maima]

Rice is incredibly dangerous, and if he ever gets out of prison, it is only a matter of time before he begins attacking women/people again. I hope LE find a way to keep him in prison forever.

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2004/03/19/coverAfterRiceNewQuestions.html

 

[Bargle]

mattsmom-- interesting. just goes to show how easily one can get disoriented in the woods. you really are lucky you made it out of there alive!
i wonder if the trails that trenny & polly were on had forks in them, and if all the possible routes they might've taken had been searched thoroughly?
i've been trying to imagine what it would be like to realize that you may have taken the wrong trail, and were hurrying trying to catch up til you slowly realized that your friends weren't ahead of you after all. by that time it would be getting dark and panic would set in, and you may try to leave the trail to find a shortcut back... and get even more lost. this is the only real logical reason i see this could happen, because why else would you wander into the woods so far, for no reason??
i also think a similar scenario may have happened with the tragic case of the missing boy scout, garrett bardsley. it's just so unbelievable..... he just turned around & was walking back to camp where he came from- which was about 150 yards away, on an obvious path! i just can't wrap my brain around it.http://www.equipped.com/kidprimr.htm

There was a case in the Smoky Mountains several years ago where a boy was hiking a trail with others. He fell behind them for some reason. In trying to catch up, he tried taking a shortcut from one part of the trail to another. In doing so, he stepped or slipped off an unseen waterfall and struck his head fatally. His body was quickly found, but it shows the danger of getting off the trail. Dangers are not always obvious.

 

[LButler]

Thelma Pauline Melton
Missing since September 25, 1981 from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: 1923
Age at Time of Disappearance: 58 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'11"
Distinguishing Characteristics: Auburn hair; brown eyes. She wears eyeglasses.
Medical Conditions: Melton was overweight, suffered from high blood pressure and nausea, and took medication for these ailments.
Clothing: Melton was last seen wearing a white and pink sleeveless striped blouse, tan polyester pants and tan, low cut, size 8 1/2 shoes with crepe soles. The left soul had a crack across the ball of the foot, which would have given distinctive footprints. She also had with her Virginia Slims cigarettes, a diamond studded white gold wristwatch and a wedding bank.
AKA: Polly

Circumstances of Disappearance
On September 25, 1981 Polly Melton was hiking Deep Creek Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park together with two friends. On the hike back she walked ahead of the others and disappeared. She had hiked this trail for almost 20 years.



I find Polly's story a little strange. She's overweight, a smoker, sick and on meds, and she's a hiker? Sorry, I know this contributes 0 to the thread, but what's up with her?

 

[Stella]

And here's something else. I read the book on the Smoky Mountain disappearances a few years ago, and if I remember correctly, someone (Polly or her kidnapper/killer?) wrote 2 checks against her bank account months after she disappeared. That's weird.

 

[reb]

weird,, did they say it looked like her handwriting?

you know i still wonder about the husband. if she walked ahead she could have very well been with him at the trailer for a while... who knows what could have happened then.. maybe he didn't want to deal with the burden or cost of her ailments anymore.. but if he did anything it would've had to be done very quickly, and then act in a completely normal way when her friends got there. but, i'm assuming they already checked him out thoroughly?

 

[Stella]

I wish I still had the book. It didn't go into as much detail as I would have liked though, I remember that.

 

[Bargle]

All right. I borrowed a copy of the revised 2001 edition of the "Unsolved Disappearances in the Great Smoky Mountains". I'm going to do a post on each of the 3 cases.

First up: Pauline 'Polly' Melton. I'm going to add some things from the book that haven't been mentioned previously here that bear on the case. I'm adding them in the order they are in the book.

Polly deliberately sped up her pace during the part of the hike where her companions lost sight of her.

A bottle of Valium was discovered missing from her husband's supply after Polly disappeared. It isn't known when it went missing.

About 3 years before her disappearance, Polly talked to her pastor about people who run around on their spouses. His impression was that she had done so at some point and felt guilty about it.

Polly volunteered at a church nutrition center for the elderly. In the week of her disappearance, she did work there on tuesday, but didn't sign up to work on friday, something she usually did. She also didn't give a reason for not being able to be there. She usually did give a reason when she couldn't be there in the past.

That thursday, for the first time in all her years there, she asked to use the church phone several times. The calls were not long distance.

Some time before she had disappeared, Polly had conversed with others about wishes coming true and fate. She wished, "If Fate would grant me a wish, I would wish to be light enough to walk without leaving footprints."

A check made out to Pauline Melton was cashed on April 14, 1982. The check was drawn on the Birmingham Trust National Bank of Birmingham, Al. The signature appeared to be Polly's. The cost of getting the opinion of a handwriting expert was thought to be prohibitive without other evidence that might help in finding Polly.

To me, this looks like a case of wilful disappearance, probably with another person. Deliberately losing sight of her friends, the unusual phone calls. If planned, she could have secreted a supply of her medicines to take along when she left.

Park officials believe Polly left the park of her own free will, probably by automobile.