Missing person found dead in park

The body of a Knoxville man who went missing while traveling to Charlotte was found Friday, Aug. 5, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Plans for safe passage: Research yields 
recommendations to stem wildlife deaths on I-40

After more than three years of research and analysis, a group focused on ending wildlife-vehicle collisions in the Pigeon River Gorge has released a report outlining its recommendations for keeping them safe from traffic.

Man dies in jail: SBI investigates Jackson’s fourth jail death since 2014

For the fourth time in eight years, a person has died while incarcerated at the Jackson County Detention Center.

This must be the place: Ode to the girl from the North Country, the one who loved horses

I first got word about Steph Wilkins while sitting in the kitchen at an old flame’s parents’ house in the small, desolate Adirondack Mountain town of Tupper Lake, New York. 

Shooting case will test limits of qualified immunity 


In 2020, a trial court accepted the qualified immunity defense of Macon County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Anthony Momphard for the 2018 killing of Scott Knibbs.

Alaska Presley, business titan and longtime Ghost Town owner, dead at 98

Small in stature but towering in her decades-long influence on Haywood County, Alaska Presley passed away on April 7 at Smoky Mountain Health and Rehabilitation, according to an obituary from Wells Funeral Home. 

Sylva grieves young shooting victims

The friends and family of two Sylva boys who died following a tragic shooting incident Sunday, March 27, gathered in the dark Saturday, April 2, for a candlelight vigil at Sylva’s Bridge Park to commemorate lives ended too soon and show support for the grieving parents. 

Some details emerge, but questions remain in Maggie Valley motel death

More than a week after an unattended death was reported at Maggie Valley’s Our Place Inn, law enforcement officials still haven’t released any details on the incident, but one of the motel’s owners has revealed the identity of the deceased.

Jackson to pay $725,000 in jail death settlement

Nearly three years after a Sylva woman was found dead  in the Jackson County Detention Center, the county has agreed to pay $725,000 to settle the resulting wrongful death lawsuit. 

Second fatal bear attack in Smokies history confirmed

A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died due to a bear attack, making Patrick Madura’s death the second bear-related fatality in the park’s history. 

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