Cause of hiker’s death still unknown
The National Park Service is still waiting on the results of an autopsy looking into the cause of hiker Jenny Bennett’s death in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park earlier this month, but investigators have ruled out a bear attack and do not suspect foul play.
Bennett, an accomplished off-trail hiker who had recently finished a novel set in the park, was reported missing June 7 and found off-trail in the Greenbrier area of the park the following day. She was a respected outdoorswoman and valued member of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club, and her friends from that organization were eager to talk about Bennett’s life and unique contributions to the world for the article reporting her death that appeared in the June 10 issue of The Smoky Mountain News.
The autopsy report is expected back within 10 weeks.
— By Holly Kays, staff writer
