Thelma Pauline 'Polly' Melton, Deep Creek
A 58-year-old woman walked ahead of two friends on the Deep Creek Trail near Bryson City on 25 September 1981 and was never found.
1981 CE · 35.46, -83.43 · status: unexplained
The account
Polly Melton was camping with her husband at the Deep Creek campground and walking with two friends when she sped up over a rise and was gone. A search over about 56 square miles found nothing that could be tied to her. Investigators later noted loose threads, including medication missing from home and a cheque in her name cashed in Alabama in 1982, which left open the possibility that she left on purpose. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation lists the case as unsolved.
The sceptical view
An accident off-trail, a voluntary departure and foul play have all been considered; none is proven.
Connections in the atlas
- Amy Wroe Bechtel, Loop Road
- Disappearance of Dennis Martin
- Trenny Gibson, Great Smoky Mountains
- Derek Lueking, Newfound Gap
- 'Missing 411' and Yosemite