Thelma Pauline Melton

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Tn (NC)

Missing From:

Bryson City, North Carolina

Summary:

Thelma Pauline Melton, 58, of Jacksonville, Florida, disappeared while hiking with two friends on September 25, 1981, on Deep Creek Trail in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She was last seen shortly after 4:00 p.m. that day, when Melton suddenly sped up her pace and walked ahead of her companions. They saw her walk over a hill on the trail and out of their view. The case remains unsolved, with no trace of her ever found despite extensive search efforts.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On September 25, 1981, 58-year-old Thelma Pauline Melton (Polly) headed to the Deep Creek Trail in the Smoky Mountain National Park with her husband Bob and two friends. Due to his condition, Robert stayed behind in the Airstream when Melton accompanied friends Trula Gudger and Pauline Cannon for a hike on Deep Creek Trail. Prior to hiking, Polly had prepared sauce for the spaghetti she intended to cook for supper and had taken a short nap. Melton was hiking on Deep Creek Trail in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park with two friends on September 25, 1981. She was last seen shortly after 4:00 p.m. that day, when Melton suddenly sped up her pace and walked ahead of her companions. They saw her walk over a hill on the trail and out of their view at that time. Melton's friends assumed that she had returned to the campground where the Airstream trailer she and her husband owned was parked. Her companions arrived at the campground at approximately 4:30 p.m., but there was no sign of Melton. Around 6 p.m., they reported her missing to a park ranger.

Additional Details:

Over the course of that week, over 150 people searched for Polly, as well as nine search dogs. At one point a dog alerted to a tree that was downed, and searchers believe she may have stopped to rest there. They didn't pick up on her scent at any other location. The trail she disappeared from was reopened on the 29th and the search officially ended on October 2nd of the same year. Polly's disappearance had a devastating impact on her elderly husband. The stress of the event was so severe that he suffered a stroke the night she vanished and was subsequently hospitalized, spending the remainder of his life in a nursing home. North Carolina governor James Hunt offered a $5000 reward for information at the behest of her family. In April 1982, a check was written to Polly Melton and cashed in Birmingham, Alabama. Investigations into the check were a dead end. Melton did not have any cash, identification or medications with her when she disappeared. She was not permitted to drive her vehicle during September 1981, so she did not carry her car keys. Melton was not thought to be suicidal at the time of her disappearance. She had suffered through minor bouts of depression in the recent past. She used Valium, a muscle relaxant, frequently in 1979, two years prior to her disappearance. It was believed that Melton had stopped her usage of the drug by 1981, but her husband noticed that his own Valium prescription was missing after Melton vanished. It is not known if Melton took the pills with her. Melton's minister stated that she was grieving over the recent death of her mother in 1981. Her supervisor at the center where Melton volunteered told authorities that Melton never used the center's telephone, but she did place a call to an unknown individual the day prior to her disappearance.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 19, 2026