Search Underway for Man with Dementia Missing in Smoky Mountains

Searchers are looking for a man with dementia who went missing from a resort along the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Saturday.

Park officials say 58 year-old Kevin Mark Lynch was last seen along the boundary of the park at The Swag resort in Waynesville, N.C. at 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, 2019. Lynch has mild dementia and may be confused about his location. He was not carrying any equipment at the time of his disappearance.

Approximately 30 searchers from the National Park Service, Haywood County Search and Rescue, and other partner organizations are in the Cataloochee Divide Trail area today looking for Lynch both on and off trail.

Please contact the park’s Emergency Communications Center at 865-436-1230 if you were hiking on the Cataloochee Divide Trail after 3:00 p.m. on Saturday or have any information regarding Lynch after this time period. Haywood County has issued a silver alert.

Read Monday, July 29 update: Search Amplifies for New Jersey Man Missing in Smoky Mountains