36: Missing Appalachia: Part One

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In Part One of this two-part series, we explore real missing person cases connected to the Appalachian region and the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail.

Appalachia stretches from Georgia to Maine, cutting through national forests, deep mountain hollows, and some of the most rugged terrain in the eastern United States.

In this episode, we examine documented disappearances, including:

• Dennis Martin (1969) – 6-year-old boy who vanished in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park• Trenny Lynn Gibson (1976) – A teenager who disappeared during a school trip near Clingmans Dome• Louise Chaput (2001) – Quebec woman murdered while hiking in the White Mountains

These cases remain either unsolved or deeply debated.

SOURCES 

• FBI – Highway Serial Killings Initiative⁠https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/april/highwayserial_040609⁠

• National Park Service – Great Smoky Mountains⁠https://www.nps.gov/grsm⁠

• Disappearance of Dennis Martin⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Dennis_Martin⁠

• Trenny Gibson CaseTennessee Bureau of Investigation

• Louise Chaput CaseAppalachian Trail Noir (archival reporting)Backpacker Magazine reporting on NH cold cases

• Samuel Little – FBI Archives⁠https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/samuel-little-serial-killer⁠

• Gary Hilton Case Documentation