A woman who posted a video online of herself feeding a bear while on vacation in Gatlinburg could face charges. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency confirmed that officers are investigating and have identified the woman seen hand feeding a bear in a viral video posted to the popular social media platform TikTok on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. The video had ...
Read More »Author Archives: Candice Fitzgibbons
Oak Ridge Quota Hunts Canceled Due to COVID-19 Risk to Facility Personnel
The U.S. Department of Energy canceled all big game quota hunts scheduled on Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area due to the coronavirus pandemic. All 12 big game quota hunts scheduled for November 7-8, November 14-15, and December 12-13, 2020 at Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area are canceled. The cancellation is due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission to Oak Ridge ...
Read More »Money Available for Homeowners and Renters Suffering COVID-19 Income Losses
East Tennessee homeowners and renters may qualify for the HomeSource Covid-19 Housing Assistance Program to pay mortgage, rent and utility bills through a new grant made possible by the Cares Act. Through a grant from the State of Tennessee utilizing federal money allocated to the state from the Cares Act, HomeSource east tennessee is offering assistance to homeowners and renters ...
Read More »Park Searching for Man Missing in Big Creek Area
Search teams are looking for a man last seen on Monday when he fell into the water at Midnight Hole along the Big Creek Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials and multiple emergency response agencies from Haywood County, N.C. are currently searching for 25-year-old male, Yogesh Patel, of Oak Forest, IL. Patel was ...
Read More »Bear Euthanized after Scavenging Body in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Rangers euthanized a bear Saturday after it was found scavenging the body of a hiker near a backcountry campsite in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. According to park spokesperson Jamie Sanders, hikers found an unoccupied tent at campsite 82 during the afternoon of September 11, 2020. The hikers subsequently discovered what appeared to be human remains across the creek ...
Read More »Sevier County Man Who Allegedly Killed Mother is Captured
A man wanted in connection with the death of his mother and assault of his grandmother in Sevierville has been arrested in Michigan after a two-day manhunt. According to Chief Deputy Michael R. Hodges, Jr. of the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, 30-year-old Josh Matthew Carr was located and arrested in Michigan by the Michigan State Police at about 7 p.m. ...
Read More »Decreased COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations Prompt Mask Order Extension
Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters extended the mask order for a second time on Friday, citing a reduction in cases and hospitalizations. Waters signed Executive Order 34 on August 29, 2020, with support from city leaders, requiring face coverings be worn by residents, employees and visitors to Sevier County through September 30. Executive Order 34 extends Executive Order 23, which ...
Read More »Bicyclist Fatality in Cades Cove
North Carolina Man Dies in Cades Cove Bicycle Accident Park officials say a man died as a result of a single-bicycle accident on Sunday in Cades Cove. Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers responded to a report of a bicycle accident in Cades Cove at 10:58 a.m. on Sunday, August 16, 2020. The cyclist, 60-year-old Harold D. Pardue from Elkin, N.C., suffered ...
Read More »Sevier County Man Faces Murder Charge in Shooting Death of Wife
The husband of a woman shot earlier this month has been charged in connection with her death. Officers responded to a 911 call about 8 a.m. on August 2, 2010, from a residence on River Divide Road, reporting that a woman had been shot. Upon arrival they found 73-year-old Sue Ella Gibson suffering from a gunshot would. An ambulance transported ...
Read More »South Carolina Man Charged with Kidnapping Woman in Pigeon Forge
Authorities arrested a man Friday morning after he allegedly kidnapped a woman in Pigeon Forge. Officers from the Sevierville Police Department responded to a 911 call about 10:30 a.m. on August 7, 2020 from a woman who stated that a man got into got into her car uninvited in Pigeon Forge, threatened her with a knife and told her to ...
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