Missing and Murdered on the Appalachian Trail
Since 1974, 11 people have been murdered and over 6 have gone missing per year on the Appalachian Trail. Many of these cases go unsolved and it leaves people to wonder, what is hiding in these mountains? The Appalachian Mountains are over 480 million years old. This is older than the first trees and Saturn’s rings. Lots of people talk about the paranormal activity that goes on in these mountains, and many say they will never go in these mountains alone. So why would hikers?
Recently, I read the Book Into the Wild by John Krakauer. This book is about a man who goes out into the Alaskan Wilderness to live off the land. This prompted me to look into more cases of people who have gone missing hiking or in the wilderness. After looking at missing people on the cold cases National Park Services website. I found and started looking into the case of Thelma Pauline “Polly” Melton, of Jacksonville, Florida, who went missing on September 25, 1981. Polly spent the fall season living and hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains on the Deep Creek Trail in North Carolina. The Deep Creek Trail is home to countless wildlife and many waterfalls and streams. At the time of her disappearance, Polly was seen wearing a pink and white blouse, tan slacks, as well as tan and white shoes. During her disappearance, Polly was hiking with two friends. Polly began to speed up in her walk and would go over a hill, which is when her companions lost sight of her. She was never seen again.
Polly, at the time, had been very familiar with the trail as she had hiked it several times in the past and had fallen in love with it. It is known that Polly’s mother had passed away which led to depression and other mental health issues for Polly; however, it was stated on the website that she was not suicidal. Polly had been diagnosed with high blood pressure as well as nausea at the time of her disappearance and was taking medication for both. Nothing was off about Polly that morning; she followed her same routine and was planning on walking the same trail. However, she did not serve at the center where she would serve meals to senior citizens. She would usually go to the center every day, but decided not to that day for unknown reasons. Due to Polly’s depression, she would use a drug known as Valium; however, it was believed that she had stopped using this medication 2 years prior. Although on the day of the disappearance, her husband noticed that his prescription for this was missing. It is also believed that Polly was having an illicit affair with a man; however, there was no evidence to verify this. Polly had made a phone call at the center the day before, which she had never done previously; however, her close friends and family do not remember her making this call. This could signify that it was to someone in the local area. We do not know what the call was about. 150 rescuers and 9 K9 units set off to look for Polly, but did not come up with a trace of her. Polly was never found and is still a cold case to this day.
I believe that Polly went off on the trail for her final moments with her friends. My theory is that Polly ran away with the man she was supposedly having an affair with; however, this would be very difficult, but it is more than possible. Polly made a mysterious call to someone at the community center that day, which she never did previously. This could also be a reason for leaving everything behind. However, there is no evidence of this. Many alternate theories have surfaced, but none of them make complete sense. Polly’s case is truly horrifying and is one with little hope of finding a conclusion.
