A summer resident of Great Smoky Mountains National Park vanishes without a trace. The mystery surrounding how she disappeared and why grows with every passing decade.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
- If you or someone you know have information regarding the disappearance of Polly Melton you can contact the NPS tip line at 888-653-0009 or go to https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/cold-cases.htm
- National Missing and Unidentified Persons System: Thelma Pauline Melton
PHOTO SOURCES
Pauline Thelma Melton Cold Cases Missing Flier
Source: National Park Service
Thelma Pauline “Polly” McAllister Melton
Source: Find A Grave
Episode Source Material
- The Asheville Times: Authorities Seek Hiker. By Sondra J. Harris. Published September 27, 1981. Accessed October 15, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Knoxville News-Sentinel: Woman Still Missing in Great Smokies. By staff. Published September 28, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Knoxville News-Sentinel: Park Rangers to Widen Search for Lost Woman. By staff. Published September 29, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- Elizabethton Star: Smoky rangers continue search for missing hiker. By staff. Published September 30, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Knoxville News-Sentinel: Search for Hiker Eases; Rangers Feel Woman No Longer in Park. By staff. Published October 1, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Knoxville News-Sentinel: Frightening Mystery of Missing Great Smokies Hiker Grows. By Carson Brewer. Published October 2, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Sanford Herald: Hiker not first to disappear. By staff. Published October 3, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Knoxville News-Sentinel: Search for Missing Park Hiker Ends. By staff. Published October 6, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Charlotte Observer: Missing Woman’s Family Wants Probe. By Dot Jackson. Published November 5, 1981. Accessed October 15, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Charlotte Observer: Terror Is When A Loved One Vanished In The Mountains. By Dot Jackson. Published November 20, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Asheville Times: Disappearance Still A Mystery. By Drew Douglas. Published December 24, 1981. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Charlotte Observer: Polly’s Friends Won’t Give Up. By Dot Jackson. Published February 5, 1982. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Charlotte Observer: N.C. Offering Rewards. By staff. Published November 29, 1983. Accessed October 14, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Knoxville News-Sentinel: Article recalled memory of missing sister. By staff. Published May 27, 1993. Accessed October 15, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- The Charley Project: Thelma Pauline Melton. By staff. Published October 12, 2004. Accessed October 13, 2025.
- The Jackson Sun: Three who got lost decades ago in the Smokies never found. By Bob Hodge. Published March 1, 2009. Accessed October 15, 2025 via newspapers.com.
- National Missing and Unidentified Persons System: Thelma Pauline Melton, Female White/Caucasian. By staff. Published March 23, 2012. Accessed October 16, 2025.
- WBIR 10 News. By Leslie Ackerson. Published December 8, 2017. Accessed July 22, 2026.
- 6 News: Missing in the Smokies: Thelma “Polly” Melton. By Melissa Greene. Published June 6, 2022. Accessed October 16, 2025.
- Unsolved Appalachia: Thelma Pauline Melton. By staff. Published March 7, 2024. Accessed October 16, 2025.
- News Nation: 5 missing persons cases remain unsolved in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. By Hope McAlee. Published November 1, 2024. Accessed October 16, 2025.
- 6 News: Florida woman still missing in Smokies after being last seen in 1981. By Hope McAlee. Published May 30, 2024. Accessed October 16, 2025.
- Southern Mysteries Podcast: Episode 162: Vanished in the Smokies – The Mysterious Disappearance of Polly Melton. By Shannon Ballard. Published March 31, 2025. Accessed October 22, 2025 via Apple Podcasts.
- Find a Grave: Thelma Pauline “Polly” McAllister Melton
- The Doe Network: Thelma Pauline Melton
- 1958 Fayetteville, NC City Directory. Earl and Pauline Bozeman entry. Obtained via Ancestry.com.
- News and Record: Thomas McKeithan Obituary. Published January 23, 1970. Accessed July 22, 2026. Via newspapers.com.
- Alabama U.S. Marriage Index 1800–1969: Alabama Center for Health Statistics. Earl C. Bozeman and Pauline T. McAllister Marriage Record. March 14, 1951. Via ancestry.com. Hard copy only. No direct link.
- National Park Service Missing Person: Thelma Pauline Melton profile
- 1950 United States Federal Census: Pauline McAllister. Via ancestry.com.