Trenny Lynn Gibson
A girl goes on a field Trip to The Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee to never be seen again
Accident?
Abduction ?
Or something even more Peculiar?
You decide on this week's Peculiar Occurrences.
(Intro)
Teresa Lynn Gibson foundly known as Trenny was born August 17, 1960 to Hope Gibson and Robert Gibson Sr. They where residents of Knoxville Tennessee and she was a Student at Bearden High School.
Trenny and 38 other students went on a field trip on October 8, 1976. Trenny boarded the bbus and sat next to a boy named Robert Simpson. The bus left Bearden High at about 9 am, to go to the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. To add some fun to it , the teacher accompanying the students that day, Wayne Dunlap had not told them of the destination until they had boarded the bus.
The bus stopped and parked at the parking lot in the Clingman's Dome area. The students were told to hike to Andrews Bald, Andrews Bald is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountain It has an elevation of 5,920 feet above sea level, making it the highest grassy bald in the Great Smoky Mountains The class was told to hick up there and observe the trees and plants, but not to break any plants or collect anything. They were to return to the bus by the same trail no later than 3:30 pm. Wayne Dunlap, the supervising teacher told the students not to go any further than Andrews Bald or take any of the side trails. After a show of hands that instructions were understood, the students departed the parking lot.
The weather was overcast and chilly, but the students seemed to enjoy themselves and broke up into small groups according to their hiking pace. Trenny hiked to Andrews Bald with the same classmate that she had shared a seat with on the bus, Robert Simpson. Not knowing where they were going Trenny did not dress well for the wether she wore A blue blouse, a blue and white striped sweater, blue jeans, blue Adidas shoes and a diamond and star sapphire ring. At some point Robert Simpson also let her borrrow his brown plaid heavy jacket, in which she still had on when she disappeared.
At about 1:30 pm, it is claimed that Trenny left Robert's company and began the hike back to the bus alone.
Angela Beckner, Lisa Mikels and Bobbie Coghill were walking together heading back towards the bus as well when Trenny came up behind them. She was walking faster than the group was, so Bobbie picked up his pace and started walking with her. They then caught up with Scott Troy and Anita Rounds . After about five minutes of walking with them, the group sat down to rest, but Trenny said that she wanted to keep going. At the time, the group was about half to three-quarters of a mile from the Clingman's Dome parking area and the bus.
After Trenny's walked away from this group, the students were watching her, and she stopped, bent down and then turned right off the trail. David Eastham came up from behind Trenny heading up the Trail from the parking area and did not see Trenny and when the kids looked back down the trail, Trenny was not there. There were several groups both behind her group and in front of her group. There is no side trail at this point, the terrain is very rocky, ground is rough and overgrown with trees, thick underbrush . A small stream makes the bank slick. But since they did not see anything The students assumed that she would be at the bus and continued on.
At 3:40 pm, Trenny was not at the bus. Wayne Dunlap hiked up to a place called Double Springs to look for Trenny while a Student named Danny Johnson hiked up Andrews Bald to try to find Trenny, but there was no sign of her. At this point, the Natanle Park Serves was contacted by CB radio. Ranger Sammy Lail responded and arrived at the parking lot at 4:30pm, where he was briefed on the situation.
Lail then began to search the Andrews Bald area, finding nothing, he made an official report that Trenny Lynn Gibson was missing in the Park. Park service then launched a search as soon as this report was received. Park personnel in Tennessee and North Carolina were requested to help. Approximately 19 searchers arrived between 6:30 and 8 pm that day. Hampered by wind, rain and fog, the groups combed the area where the students had hiked and where Trenny was last seen.
Some one you may remember from the Dennis Martin Case is Dwight McCarter was called in to help track being one of the top trackers around the Great Smoky mountains at the time he say's there where only 2 cases he could not solve and this was one of them.
The teacher Wayne Dunlap, stayed behind to aid in the search, while the bus carrying the Bearden High students returned to Knoxville. The general consensus among the students at the time was that Trenny had run off with someone.
Hope Gibson, Trenny's mother, was notified by telephone at 8pm that evening that Trenny was missing, 5 hours after she vanished. After Robert Gibson Sr, Trenny's father, arrived at the airport from a business trip, the Gibson's headed to the Park with clothing that their daughter had recently worn, to give scent to the tracking dogs. The Gibson's arrived around midnight, and the search for their daughter was called off for the night at 3am, due to inclement weather conditions.
The full scale search for Trenny began the following day, October 9, 1976, complete with teams of German Shepherds and Bloodhounds. Groups searched the area from the Clingman's Dome parking area to Andrews Bald and all of the side trails. Two of Trenny's uncles participated in this search as well, with their own dogs. Several National Guard helicopters had been obtained for the search, but could not fly until late afternoon due to heavy fog. Haze, thick evergreen foliage, and changing leaves made visibility nearly impossible. frost combined with fallen leaves made hiking slippery and dangerous.
A few ferns were found broken on the trail close to where Trenny was last seen. 3 cigarette butts and a partial opened can of beer were found nearby. Several of the dogs had tracked Trenny to a spot on the paved road about 1.6 miles from the Clingman's Dome parking area. On the following day, eight cigarette butts of the same brand were found.
The search for Trenny continued until October 22, 1976, then a limited search was carried out until November 2, 1976. A total of 756 people had searched for Trenny. At this point, the search was called off because no physical evidence could be found to indicate that Trenny was still in the park. Park personnel stayed alert for any evidence in the case as part of their regular duties. A second search, organized by Robert Gibson Sr. began on April 18, 1977, and lasted until May 5, 1977. 3 days were lost due to inclement weather. Eventually, all major and minor trails, drainages and ridges between Andrews Bald and Elkmont in Tennessee, a distance of 15 miles, and Fontana Lake in North Carolina a distance of 14 miles, were searched. 230 people participated in the second search.
But unfortunately no trace of her was ever found and this was before Tennessee got DNA Annylest technology so as far as I could tell in my research no DNA analyst has ever been done on the ciggerett buts or beer can tho I wounder if they have retained the evidence in this case because if so it would be worth going back and trying to do a DNA analyzed on these items.
Now lets get into the Theories
There was two main theories presented by the FBI, who entered the investigation on October 12, 1976, :
1. Trenny was abducted and taken out of the park, likely taken at the place where Andrews Bald Trail intersects with the Appalachian Trail. She was then hidden someplace until it was safe to walk unseen to the spot on the road where the dogs had tracked her. From here she was taken out of the Park by vehicle.
Now if you look at this picture you will see the observation tower on Clingman's Dome, you can see a cavity at the base of the tower. Could Trenny and/or her captors have taken refuge here? In the heavy mist, fog and rain they may have escaped detection long enough to leave the area.
The 2nd theory
2. Trenny, while walking ahead of her classmates, became lost. She may have followed the Appalachian Trail by mistake and made her way to the tower on Clingman's Dome. Seeing headlights, she made her way to the road. Instead of help, she was either abducted or met with some other kind of foul play.
Now there where also other theory's presented by her parents and others involved
There is the Kelvin Bowman Theory
Kelvin Bowman was a student at Bearden, a year older than Trenny. A few months prior to her disappearance, he and another student named, Ronnie Joiner, broke into the Gibson residence one night. Hope Gibson, hearing the noise, got a gun and ended up shooting Kelvin in the foot.
Kelvin was arrested, tried and sentenced to time in a correctional institution. He had allegedly made threats to kill Trenny once he got out. Some of the students claimed that they had noticed Kelvin following the bus to the mountains that day by car. Frank Hall, Bearden High's principal refutes this, claiming that he was in class that day. Wayne Dunlap was adamant that no cars followed the bus and none of the students were aware of the destination of the bus prior to its departure.
Then there is the Robert Simpson Theory
Robert Simpson was a year older than Trenny and was a friend of Trenny's older brother. He had a car and he and Trenny often went for short rides together, to West Town Mall and other places. It is said that Robert was very fond of Trenny, but it is not known if they were ever a couple.
Trenny had shared a seat on the bus with Robert on the way to the Park that day. She was also wearing his heavy brown plaid CPO jacket when she disappeared. On the trip, it was Robert that she had spent most of her time with, and after she left his company to return to the bus, he could not be found and later he claimed that he had gone tracking a bear.
Later some of the students on the trip had told Mr. Gibson that Trenny's hair comb was found in Robert's car. Trenny was known to never be without that comb, she carried it in the right hip pocket of her jeans. There is no record that this was ever investigated further.
On two occasions when the Gibson's were in the Park searching for Trenny, Robert Simpson came by the residence and told Tina Gibson (Trenny's younger sister) that "If Kelvin Bowman has Trenny, he will kill her. If he doesn't have her, I think she might have run off with some horny hitchhiker". Very strange statements from a boy with a supposed crush.
This case remanded Open and Unsolved to this day if you or anyone you know has any information on this case I contact The Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation 615-744-4000
So what do you think about this Peculiar Occurrence what do you think happened to Trenny? I am really torn on this one because so many people supposedly seen her fall or bend down and disappear but I feel she definitely met with foul play.
Let me know what you think about this in the comments below
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