Sevier News Messenger Sevier County News and Opinion
Friends and family will gather on Tuesday for a candlelight vigil in support of the continuing search for Veronica Casciato, a Sevier County woman who disappeared earlier this month.
According to the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Department, Casciato was last seen leaving her dorm in Harrogate, Tenn., where she attends Lincoln Memorial University, to run errands at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, 2017. She never returned to her dorm and her family has not heard from her. The last activity on her debit card was at a gas station near the LMU campus, a family member says. It is out of character for her to disappear or fall out of contact.
Casciato and her husband live in Cosby, Tenn. and she has strong ties here in Sevier County. She also has family in Asheville, N.C. Known as “V” to her many friends, Casciato worked at Food City in Gatlinburg, Dollywood and other local businesses through the years. A Friends of Veronica Casciato Facebook page has been set up to coordinate search efforts and update friends.
Veronica Casciato was last seen leaving her dorm in Harrogate, Tenn., where she attends Lincoln Memorial University.
Veronica Casciato drives a white, four-door 2010 Toyota Corolla with a yellow LMU decal on the rear window a Sevier County license plate 1D6 6R8.
Casciato likes to drive scenic roads. The LMU campus is near rural areas and the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park that straddles the Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia borders. Friends and family have been searching along roads in the area and encourage anyone in the region to be on the lookout for Casciato or her car.
A candlelight vigil for Casciato will be held at the Quad on the Lincoln Memorial University campus, 6965 Cumberland Gap Pkwy. in Harrogate, at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18. In the event of bad weather, the vigil will be moved to the chapel.
48-year-old Virginia Casciato is 5’4″ tall, weighs 120 pounds and has short, graying brown hair. Her ears are pierced and she wears glasses. She has a rainbow-colored fairy tattoo on her upper right arm and suffers from vitiligo that may cause white spots on her skin. She drives a white, four-door 2010 Toyota Corolla with a yellow LMU decal on the rear window a Sevier County license plate 1D6 6R8.
Anyone with information about Veronica Casciato is asked to call the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Department at (423) 626-3385 or 911.
Photos of Casciato: Steve SoaringOak Photography/Facebook
