The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Displaying items by tag: tremont

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GATLINBURG — A missing man who was the subject of a search in Great Smoky Mountains National Park was found on Wednesday.

Jacob Riggs was located in the vicinity of Tremont by a park visitor who recognized that he was in need of care. The visitor brought Riggs to the Incident Command Post near the Townsend Wye. Riggs had minor injuries and exposure to weather. He was evaluated onsite and taken to a local hospital. 

The previous story is below:

Park rangers are searching for a 35-year-old man near the Townsend Wye, Tremont and Cades Cove areas of the park. Jacob Riggs was last seen in Maynardville, Tenn. on April 7. His vehicle was found in the park on April 8. 

Riggs is a white male, with black hair and a dark beard, and brown eyes. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds.  

Several organizations are helping the National Park Service in the search and more resources are en route.  
Anyone who saw Riggs or has information about his whereabouts is asked to please contact the national park.
— CALL the NPS Tip Line 888-653-0009
— ONLINE go.nps.gov/SubmitATip 
— EMAIL This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
— EMERGENCY dial 9-1-1 
Published in Feedbag

Clean Up PileVolunteers who helped with the Save our Smokies cleanup on April 23 are shown here among their booty. Anna Lawrence/Hellbender Press

Amid the booze bottles and toilet paper, it’s ‘incredible what we found here’

Cleanup crews cleared garbage Earth Day weekend across Great Smoky Mountains National Park from mountain crests to the shores of Fontana Lake.

Save Our Smokies, which organized the April 23 event, called it the largest single cleanup ever attempted in the park. Volunteers wrangled some 5,000 pounds of garbage.

Save our Smokies Vice President Benny Braden said the organization removed 10,133 pounds of trash in all of 2021.

“Litter is a big problem. We can clean up a location and two months later we have to be back there because it’s worse than when we started,” Braden said in an interview Saturday morning at the Tremont section of the national park. “What gives us hope is our volunteers showing up,” he said, citing their tireless dedication.

Published in News