Park officials were notified Sunday, Sept. 9, that William Lee Hill Jr., 30, of Louisville, Tennessee, was missing after entering the woods with companion Joshua Morgan that Friday to look for ginseng. The two separated during the day, and Hill had not been heard from since. 

Rangers began searching immediately, working until after dark Sunday night and continuing the search throughout Monday and into Tuesday, when Hill’s body was found around 1 p.m. off-trail about 2 miles north of Cades Cove, half a mile from Rich Mountain Road and less than a mile from a residential area outside the park. 

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr. Hill during such a difficult time,” said park Superintendent Cassius Cash. 

Rangers saw evidence of wildlife scavenging of the remains over the past several days, with an adult male bear remaining in the area and showing aggressive behaviors for many hours, even as rangers worked throughout the evening to recover Hill’s body. Wildlife biologists then trapped the bear and recovered human DNA from it. Public safety concerns led park officials to decide that the bear must be euthanized. 

“This is always one of the hardest decisions a wildlife manager has to make, and is one that we did not take lightly,” Cash said. “Over 2 million visitors come to the Cades Cove area annually and there are several residential areas very close to where we found Mr. Hill’s body. We could not take the risk of allowing this bear to approach or show aggression towards other people.” 

While park officials decided to euthanize the bear on Wednesday, Sept. 12, the task was not completed until 9:45 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, when the bear was fatally shot. The bear was initially trapped Sept. 11, and released with a GPS tracking collar so park officials could easily find it once they’d had a chance to review the evidence and come to a decision. However, the bear evaded wildlife managers for some time, staying far enough away that they couldn’t get a clean shot to humanely end its life. Rich Mountain Road and the surrounding area remained closed while the efforts progressed. 

The investigation into Hill’s death is still continuing, with cause of death not yet known. Harvesting ginseng in the park is illegal.