News

Ripley’s Tennessee Attractions, including Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and Guinness World Records Adventure, donated $50,000 worth of school supplies to the Greenbrier Teacher Depot. “I am absolutely delighted with the large amount of school supplies that Ripley’s has recently donated to the Greenbrier Teacher Depot. The Depot opens its doors each semester to the public ...

Search crews located the body of Mitzie Sue “Susan” Clements in Great Smoky Mountains National Park late Tuesday afternoon. Her body was found off-trail, in a rugged, heavily wooded area of the Huggins Creek drainage, approximately two miles from Clingmans Dome parking area and 3/4 mile south of the Appalachian Trail. Clingmans Dome Road remains closed to allow staff time ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have entered the sixth full day of searching for Mitzie Sue “Susan” Clements, 53, who was last seen in the Clingmans Dome area of the park on Tuesday, September 25, 2018. Over the weekend, the search effort intensified with the addition of personnel and specialized equipment from five states. Searchers, canine teams, helicopters, and ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announce the implementation of single-lane closures of the southbound Spur (US 441) between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg on Friday, September 28, 2018 due to a rockslide which occurred south of Flat Branch. Crews are currently working to clear the debris from the roadway. Single-lane closures, with periodic full-road closures, are anticipated to continue into ...

Great Smoky Mountains National park rangers are searching for a missing 53-year-old woman from Cleves, Ohio who was last seen in the Clingmans Dome area of the park on Tuesday, September 25, 2018. Mitzie Sue “Susan” Clements was hiking with her daughter on the Forney Ridge Trail, near Andrews Bald when the two separated. She was last seen around 5 ...

The journey to recovery is not yet complete but we believe now is the time to bring the second chapter of that recovery to a close. After 16 months of providing financial assistance to fire survivors, The Mountain Tough Recovery Team will suspend operations to the public for recovery services on December 20, 2018. The work Mountain Tough completed since ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials continue preparations for Hurricane Florence and have announced road and facility closures beginning Saturday, September 15. Predictions from the National Weather Service call for strong, gusty winds and rainfall amounts of 4-8 inches moving into the park on Saturday evening, with Sunday morning seeing the worst of the storm. The higher rainfall totals are most ...

Like many people in East Tennessee, my family has been deeply impacted by the opioid crisis. I saw first-hand how the cycle of addiction can hold a multi-generational grip on a family, and how hard it is to end it. That’s why, when I was crowned Miss Tennessee, I vowed that I would use the great opportunity afforded to me ...

Despite saying on Wednesday that a bear found near a man’s remains in Great Smoky Mountains National Park had been euthanized, officials said Friday that efforts to locate and euthanize the bear are ongoing. Areas of the park remain closed for public safety. 30-year-old William Lee Hill, Jr., of Louisville, Tenn., along with friend Joshua Morgan, entered the park Friday, ...

Great Smoky Mountain National Park officials say a bear was euthanized in connection with the search and recovery of remains of a missing man near Cades Cove. Searchers in Great Smoky Mountain National Park found the body of William Lee Hill, Jr., 30, of Louisville, Tenn. on Tuesday afternoon around 1 p.m., off Rich Mountain Road and approximately two miles ...