1981 Melton,Thelma P.missing September 25,1981, TN

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http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20...EWS01/903010346

Case of boy lost decades ago in Smokies still a mystery
By BOB HODGE • The Knoxville News Sentinel • March 1, 2009

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Buzz up! KNOXVILLE — It was a simple plan that Dennis Martin, his brother and two other boys hatched.



While five adults watched and talked from a grassy area at Spence Field, the boys decided to see if they could sneak up on the old folks and maybe give them a start. Three of the boys went one direction. Dennis, six days short of his seventh birthday, went another.

A few minutes later the three, which included Dennis' older brother Douglas, jumped on the adults. Dennis was nowhere to be seen.

He hasn't been seen since.

That was June 14, 1969.

What became of Dennis Martin is one of the most enduring mysteries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The search that ensued after his Saturday afternoon disappearance would last until mid-September of 1969 and involve thousands of searchers. Everybody from old-hands who grew up on the land that became the park to National Guard units and Green Berets from Fort Bragg, N.C., spent weeks combing that part of the mountains. The search would include everything from bloodhounds to helicopters, cost $65,000 and not turn up a trace of the boy.

1 of 3 missing
Martin is one of three people — Trenny Lynn Gibson and Thelma Pauline Melton are the others — who went into the park and, as far as anyone knows, never came out.

Gibson disappeared on Oct. 8, 1976, while on a field trip with Bearden High School. The 16-year-old and her classmates were hiking near Andrews Bald and Clingmans Dome. No one on the trip remembered seeing her after 3 p.m. that afternoon.
(2 of 2)


The 58-year-old Melton of Jacksonville, Fla., was hiking near Deep Creek Campground on Sept. 25, 1981, with two friends when she went missing. Melton was familiar with the trail, having hiked it many times before, and was out ahead of her friends when she disappeared.



All three cases involved massive searches that not only failed to turn up the missing persons, they also failed to turn up any suggestion of what may have happened to them.

But the search for Dennis Martin was the most intense and lasted the longest.

At the time of the disappearance his father, Bill, then a Knoxville architect, described Dennis as a "husky, healthy boy" who was not particularly afraid of anything. He had some experience camping and hiking in the mountains with his family and, despite heavy rains the night he disappeared and during the following week, family and searchers hoped he would be found alive.

On June 20 the road to Cades Cove was closed as more than 400 volunteers took to the mountains. If he was found alive a helicopter was standing by to fly him to the Marine Corps Base on Alcoa Highway and from there an ambulance would take him to the University of Tennessee hospital.

The search and hoped-for rescue was getting national attention. Clairvoyant Jeane Dixon, who gained nationwide fame for predicting the assassination of President John Kennedy, told the News Sentinel she "sensed" Martin was still alive. Seven days after he disappeared she told the paper "the boy was still breathing last night."

The only clues that turned up were quickly discounted.

Some boy-sized footprints were found in divergent sections of the search area, but park officials and those involved with the search said the chances of the footprints being Dennis Martin's were remote.

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http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/melton_thelma.html
Thelma Pauline Melton


Above: Melton, circa 1981


Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Date Of Birth 1923
Missing Since: September 25, 1981 from The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 58 years old
Height: 5'11 weight 170-180lbs
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Auburn hair, brown eyes. Melton has a heavyset frame. She wears eyeglasses. Melton smoked approximately two packs of Virginia Slims cigarettes per day at the time of her 1981 disappearance. Her nickname is Polly.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A pink and white striped sleeveless blouse, tan pants, a diamond-studded white gold wristwatch, a wedding bank, and size 8 1/2 tan low-cut shoes with crepe soles. The sole of her left shoe had a crack across the ball of the foot.
Medical Conditions: Melton has high blood pressure and also suffers from nausea. She was taking medications for both conditions at the time she disappeared.


Details of Disappearance

Melton was hiking on Deep Creek Trail in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park with two friends on September 25, 1981. She was last seen shortly after 4:00 p.m. that day, when Melton suddenly sped up her pace and walked ahead of her companions. They saw her walk over a hill on the trail and out of their view at that time. Melton's friends assumed that she had returned to the campground where the Airstream trailer owned by Melton and her husband was parked. Her companions arrived at the campground at approximately 4:30 p.m., but there was no sign of Melton. Her husband was inside the trailer while his wife and the others hiked the trail, but he had not seen Melton since the group departed together.
Melton was reported as a missing person to a park ranger at approximately 6:00 p.m., two hours after her disappearance. She was familiar with Deep Creek Trail, which runs parallel with Deep Creek in the park. There was no indication that anyone had ventured off of the trail's path. Melton has never been heard from again. She was carrying her cigarettes with her when she disappeared.

She apparently followed her normal routine during the day preceeding her disappearance. The only exception was that Melton decided against volunteering at a center where she served meals to senior citizens. She usually arrived at the center every day, but had decided against it for unclear reasons on September 25. Melton did not have any cash, identification or medications with her when she disappeared. She was not permitted to drive her vehicle during September 1981, so she did not carry her car keys. Her husband had the keys to the couple's trailer.

Melton was not thought to be suicidal at the time of her disappearance. She had suffered through minor bouts of depression in the recent past. She used Valium, a sedative, frequently in 1979, two years prior to her disappearance. It was believed that Melton had stopped her usage of the drug by 1981, but her husband noticed that his own Valium prescription was missing after Melton vanished. It is not known if Melton took the pills with her. Melton's minister stated that she was grieving over the recent death of her mother in 1981. He also suspected that Melton may have had an affair with another man at the time, but there is no evidence to support this theory. Her supervisor at the center where Melton volunteered told authorities that Melton never used the center's telephone, but she did place a call to an unknown individual the day prior to her disappearance. It is not known if the phone call was related to her case.

Melton's disappearance remains unsolved.



Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation
615-744-4000



Source Information
Unsolved Disappearances in the Great Smoky Mountains
The Doe Network



Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004.

Last updated August 24, 2005; details of disappearance updated.

Charley Project Home


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http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/in...opic=7972&st=0&

[ELL]

3 missing person cases still puzzle park officials
May 02, 2012 12:43 GMT


%reldate(2012-05-02T12:41:27

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) -- Officials of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park deal with lost visitors every year and most all of them are found.

Three missing person incidents, however, still are unsolved and are known internally as "the big three."

WVLT-TV (http://bit.ly/JSvkuv ) reported the disappearances of two children and one adult in different parts of the Smokies in different decades still are puzzling.

Six-year-old Dennis Martin disappeared while playing at his family's campsite in 1969. In 1976, 16-year-old Trennie Gibson was last seen on a field trip with her friends. Polly Melton, who was 51, disappeared from a popular hiking trail in 1981.

Park spokesman Bob Miller says it's likely the woman and the teen were either taken out of the park or left willingly. Officials think the young boy never left.
http://www.newschannel9.com/template/inews...nnel9.com.shtml

[PorchlightUSA]

3 missing person cases still puzzle Smokies officials
Posted: May 02, 2012 9:23 AM EDT
Updated: May 02, 2012 9:24 AM EDT
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - Officials of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park deal with lost visitors every year and most all of them are found.

Three missing person incidents, however, still are unsolved and are known internally as "the big three."

WVLT-TV reported the disappearances of 2 children and one adult in different parts of the Smokies in different decades still are puzzling.

6-year-old Dennis Martin disappeared while playing at his family's campsite in 1969. In 1976, 16-year-old Trennie Gibson was last seen on a field trip with her friends. Polly Melton, who was 51, disappeared from a popular hiking trail in 1981.

Park spokesman Bob Miller says it's likely the woman and the teen were either taken out of the park or left willingly. Officials think the young boy never left.