ImkerVS
05-09-2008, 16:49
From: Johnson City Press.com http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=HOMEPAGE&ID=62873
By Jim Wozniak
Erwin Bureau Chief
[email protected] ([email protected])
POPLAR, N.C. – A plethora of public safety personnel are searching the mountains on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee this afternoon in an effort to find a husband and wife who were hiking and reported missing Thursday night.
Cheryl Merriken, 58, and David Merriken, 59, 530 Gray Station, Gray, had taken a day hike on Wednesday but had not returned by the time their children came home from school, said Kent Harris, sheriff of Unicoi County, Tenn.
"The parents never showed up, so they contacted some friends, church members trying to locate them," he said.
Authorities started looking for the couple on Thursday night after friends called.
About noon today, sheriff's Deputy Kelly Blevins and Marty Luttrell, a church friend of the couple, found their car, a Ford Focus rental car on Flat Top Mountain here. The spot is in the Pigsah National Forest about 15 miles from downtown Erwin, Tenn., that is reached by driving through Spivey Mountain in Unicoi County.
Based on the car's condition, UCSD Capt. Rick Butler said there was no indication of foul play. Luttrell said Merriken has a bad knee, and one possible scenario espoused by Butler is that the man might have injured himself.
But Luttrell, who described the couple as avid hikers, said there are some reasons why they moved her that he did not want to disclose other than saying it involved a court case.
"That brought us some immediate concern over the situation," he said.
"It's definitely an unusual set of circumstances at this point for them not to be here. It's a little strange that she's not come out of the woods on her own to seek help and bring somebody back to them."
But Luttrell agreed with Butler that this appeared to be more of a case of injury.
Representatives of Unaka Mountain Search and Rescue, the volunteer fire departments in Unicoi County and the sheriff's department were in the mountains looking for the couple. A command post has been set up on Granny Lewis Creek in Unicoi County. The Yancey County Sheriff's Department also has been called.
Luttrell and Unicoi County sheriff's Lt. Jason Tilson hiked from Flat Top in search of the Merrikens.
Harris said authorities also have talked to Appalachian Trail hikers to ascertain whether they have encountered the Merrikens.
"Our hope is to find them today, and hopefully they will be all right," Harris said.
According to a report filed with the Washington County, Tenn., Sheriff's Department, Mrs. Merriken has blond hair and blue eyes and is about 5 feet 7 1/2 inches tall. Her husband has gray hair and blue eyes and is 6 feet tall. He is a captain on a barge. Luttrell estimated the couple have lived in the area for five to seven years. He believes they moved here from Pensacola, Fla.
By Jim Wozniak
Erwin Bureau Chief
[email protected] ([email protected])
POPLAR, N.C. – A plethora of public safety personnel are searching the mountains on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee this afternoon in an effort to find a husband and wife who were hiking and reported missing Thursday night.
Cheryl Merriken, 58, and David Merriken, 59, 530 Gray Station, Gray, had taken a day hike on Wednesday but had not returned by the time their children came home from school, said Kent Harris, sheriff of Unicoi County, Tenn.
"The parents never showed up, so they contacted some friends, church members trying to locate them," he said.
Authorities started looking for the couple on Thursday night after friends called.
About noon today, sheriff's Deputy Kelly Blevins and Marty Luttrell, a church friend of the couple, found their car, a Ford Focus rental car on Flat Top Mountain here. The spot is in the Pigsah National Forest about 15 miles from downtown Erwin, Tenn., that is reached by driving through Spivey Mountain in Unicoi County.
Based on the car's condition, UCSD Capt. Rick Butler said there was no indication of foul play. Luttrell said Merriken has a bad knee, and one possible scenario espoused by Butler is that the man might have injured himself.
But Luttrell, who described the couple as avid hikers, said there are some reasons why they moved her that he did not want to disclose other than saying it involved a court case.
"That brought us some immediate concern over the situation," he said.
"It's definitely an unusual set of circumstances at this point for them not to be here. It's a little strange that she's not come out of the woods on her own to seek help and bring somebody back to them."
But Luttrell agreed with Butler that this appeared to be more of a case of injury.
Representatives of Unaka Mountain Search and Rescue, the volunteer fire departments in Unicoi County and the sheriff's department were in the mountains looking for the couple. A command post has been set up on Granny Lewis Creek in Unicoi County. The Yancey County Sheriff's Department also has been called.
Luttrell and Unicoi County sheriff's Lt. Jason Tilson hiked from Flat Top in search of the Merrikens.
Harris said authorities also have talked to Appalachian Trail hikers to ascertain whether they have encountered the Merrikens.
"Our hope is to find them today, and hopefully they will be all right," Harris said.
According to a report filed with the Washington County, Tenn., Sheriff's Department, Mrs. Merriken has blond hair and blue eyes and is about 5 feet 7 1/2 inches tall. Her husband has gray hair and blue eyes and is 6 feet tall. He is a captain on a barge. Luttrell estimated the couple have lived in the area for five to seven years. He believes they moved here from Pensacola, Fla.