GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Rangers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have suspended searches for two missing men.
Park spokesman Molly Schroer said Monday morning that the searches were called off after no clues had been found, beyond discovery of the men’s vehicles.
Up to 60 searchers looked for about a week after Derek Lueking’s vehicle was found at the Newfound Gap overlook. Lueking is 24 years old and lives in the Blount County community of Louisville.
The search was on for Lueking when rangers found a car belonging to 23-year-old Michael Giovanni Cocchini of Nashville.
Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson said it was disheartening to searchers to look for so long and not find either man.