TN TN - Teresa 'Trenny' Lynn Gibson, 16, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 8 Oct 1976

[Kudzuu]

I read through the National Park report and the dogs alerted at the same place. One, the bloodhound followed the scent to the road. The most logical assumption is TG got in a vehicle. In 1976 it would be fairly easy for a 16 year old to change her identity and start a new life. It may not have been by choice. There would be no paper trail except for school or a driver's license and birth certificate. I never had to use my birth certificate EVER in my life. SS number when I went to college. She could have married some man and started a life with him.

Or her remains may still be out there. If she perished that fall animals could have scattered the remains and they simply haven't been found.

 

[jetsfanjohn]

Or her remains may still be out there. If she perished that fall animals could have scattered the remains and they simply haven't been found.

RSBM.

I am about 70/30 that she got lost after going off the trail, possibly in a somewhat distressed state. However, the dogs tracking her to the road, is hard to ignore. Do we know anything more about the alleged sighting of a girl walking the road crying ? When was it first reported etc. ?

 

[T rex]

RSBM.

I am about 70/30 that she got lost after going off the trail, possibly in a somewhat distressed state. However, the dogs tracking her to the road, is hard to ignore. Do we know anything more about the alleged sighting of a girl walking the road crying ? When was it first reported etc. ?

I'm assuming the LR road referred to in the report stands for Little River Rd. Some of the headwaters of the Little River do come out of the area that Trenny was and could be followed down but I don't think even an experienced hiker could cover that terrain in that amount of daylight hours. She would need a ride over there in my opinion but it's still possible. It could have been something totally unrelated too or just a prank.

 

[T rex]

I'm assuming the LR road referred to in the report stands for Little River Rd. Some of the headwaters of the Little River do come out of the area that Trenny was and could be followed down but I don't think even an experienced hiker could cover that terrain in that amount of daylight hours. She would need a ride over there in my opinion but it's still possible. It could have been something totally unrelated too or just a prank.

After taking a harder look at this maybe it wouldn't be as difficult as I thought, although I still don't feel it's likely. There is a Little River Trail that leads to Elkmont or Cumberland Gap Trail to Jakes Creek Trail and then to Elkmont. Trenny would have certainly encountered people at Elkmont. Is it possible she could have crossed over a trail without realizing it? Most trails follow the path of least resistance so most people would just instinctively follow it whether they realized it or not. I wish I could be for certain where 5 miles east of Y is.
Anyway I still believe Trenny followed the AT to the Collins Gap area and got in a vehicle. There are several reported sightings in the report. Some are ruled out in the report and some we are left hanging.

 

[T rex]

From about 1/2 of what the classmates I interviewed told me, they had an idea they were headed to the Smokies. The rest did not know the destination, only that they would be gone all day

Hope Gibson was supposed to go along on the field trip, so while she knew there was one and it was an all-day trip, they were still not aware of the destination.

Sorry but I just don't believe the students didn't know where they were going that day. And now I'm to believe that an adult chaperone wouldn't have known either?

The way I see it the half knew about the trip and half didn't suggestion is designed to support a certain narrative while trying to rule out another. If it was a planned abduction then someone had to know so this would fall in the half that did know but if Trenny didn't know then it couldn't be a planned runaway so she of course would fall in the other half.

I think just about all the students knew where they were going that day and the ones that didn't are the ones that weren't paying attention in class.

 

[Betty P]

Sorry but I just don't believe the students didn't know where they were going that day. And now I'm to believe that an adult chaperone wouldn't have known either?

The way I see it the half knew about the trip and half didn't suggestion is designed to support a certain narrative while trying to rule out another. If it was a planned abduction then someone had to know so this would fall in the half that did know but if Trenny didn't know then it couldn't be a planned runaway so she of course would fall in the other half.

I think just about all the students knew where they were going that day and the ones that didn't are the ones that weren't paying attention in class.

If so, why would the teacher tell LE that they kept that info from the students until they were on their way there?

 

[T rex]

If so, why would the teacher tell LE that they kept that info from the students until they were on their way there?

Why do people stop me everyday while I'm in the middle of doing something just to tell me something I already know?
I wish I had an answer for that.
My point is if a few of the students knew where they were going then all the others in that class would know too. I definitely don't believe that a chaperone wouldn't have been informed of it.
I just think that the some knew and some didn't is a tactic to reach a desired outcome while at the same time trying to rule out a less desirable one.

I'm not an optimist Betty P when it comes to these old missing person cases. I usually get all gloomy feeling when I look at them. This is one of the few that I actually have a little hope that this person could still be with us.

 

[T rex]

Sorry, dogs are wonderful and in some cases can be amazingly helpful in these types of cases, but they’re not always right or accurate and in cases such as the one I mentioned can be horribly misleading.

More than one set of dogs trailed Trenny up to Collins Gap. They hit on her trail at or around the same place and followed it to the same place. Also of significance is where else these dogs did not pick up her scent and well that's everywhere else. If the dogs were making mistakes then they wouldn't have all made the same mistake at the same places. I believe they were spot on.
If Trenny was planning to leave the park that day it's obvious why she wouldn't want to use the parking lot at Clingmans Dome. So where is the next best place? The closest, the quickest, the easiest?
That would be Collins Gap.
I don't think it's just coincidence.

 

[Betty P]

Why do people stop me everyday while I'm in the middle of doing something just to tell me something I already know?
I wish I had an answer for that.
My point is if a few of the students knew where they were going then all the others in that class would know too. I definitely don't believe that a chaperone wouldn't have been informed of it.
I just think that the some knew and some didn't is a tactic to reach a desired outcome while at the same time trying to rule out a less desirable one.

I'm not an optimist Betty P when it comes to these old missing person cases. I usually get all gloomy feeling when I look at them. This is one of the few that I actually have a little hope that this person could still be with us.

Well, its good you feel optimistic. I'm the pessimist, having read of too many cases of people getting lost in similar parks. There have been several missing person cases in the area around Clingman's Dome that didn't end well. I hope this one is an exception. This area has a difficult reputation, though. Very easy for people to become hopelessly lost when wandering even a short distance from a group.

The back story of potential drama with fellow students makes this case somewhat different.

 

[T rex]

Very easy for people to become hopelessly lost when wandering even a short distance from a group.

This would be the one I'd go with if I didn't believe that Trenny went to the road at Collins Gap.

I'm the pessimist, having read of too many cases of people getting lost in similar parks.

Most of the time I'm right there with you.

 

[Ciriii57]

Wow, after reading this whole thread I never thought a comb could cause so much contention!
So, with it all fresh in my mind - even if a comb was found in RS's car then unless it was specifically inscribed with her name, there's no way even her brother could definitively say it was Trenny's. As has been mentioned, carrying combs was all the rage, it could have been anyone's!
Regarding the jewellery. I am envisioning a situation where a couple of girls, possibly bullies to Trenny, took her jewellery and maybe even her comb while in the bathroom. Perhaps this was just a silly joke that went too far.

I can't explain RS's odd behaviour after or even why the girls never said this is what happened.

I am inclined to believe the various dogs here. Maybe Trenny stormed off in anger or upset. Either way I think she did reach that road.

From there I'm afraid I'm totally lost! My best guess would be that Trenny was being bullied worse than anyone knew and took off on the spur of the moment. I guess everyone at school would know this and collectively just never said she was being targeted by bullies. But maybe they did know she had run away which is why it seemed the prevalent theory amongst them.

In this case murder, even by those who had her stuff, i find almost impossible. To take her or lure her away from the middle of a group on a hiking trail, murder her, hide her body...all without anyone else seeing and then make it back in time to hop back on the bus; no blood, no mess, no mud ...I just don't think it is possible.

 

[T rex]

Wow, after reading this whole thread I never thought a comb could cause so much contention!

Only if you let it. I gave the comb a chance but in the end it doesn't mean much to me. The most I get out of it is a little glimpse into Trenny's home life. If she was expected to consider a plastic comb to be a special treat as we have heard then that's much like her having someone watch over her on the field trip (little glimpses). What 16 year old would consider a plastic comb special? Maybe a little baby would right before they stick it in their mouth and start chewing on it.

My best guess would be that Trenny was being bullied worse than anyone knew and took off on the spur of the moment

The only problem I have with spur of the moment is it seems like Trenny knew where she was going and apparently didn't waste much time getting there. Basically all she did was bypass the parking lot.

 

[Ciriii57]

Only if you let it. I gave the comb a chance but in the end it doesn't mean much to me. The most I get out of it is a little glimpse into Trenny's home life. If she was expected to consider a plastic comb to be a special treat as we have heard then that's much like her having someone watch over her on the field trip (little glimpses). What 16 year old would consider a plastic comb special? Maybe a little baby would right before they stick it in their mouth and start chewing on it.



The only problem I have with spur of the moment is it seems like Trenny knew where she was going and apparently didn't waste much time getting there. Basically all she did was bypass the parking lot.

After having read your posts on this thread, I would tend to agree with all of your analysis of what went down.
And that's a good insight about her personal life based on her feelings fore a comb! I kept saying to myself "it's a darn comb", I don't care if it was a gift or not...it was a comb!

Yeah, every one of the possible 3 or 4 potential ideas has some problem. I did consider that she had planned this but the thing that made me question myself was that it seemed so convoluted a way to do it rather than just grabbing your stuff from home and leaving. So I just figured maybe she said to herself "screw it, I'm outta here". But I agree, it does seem quite clear that she specifically headed to a waiting car.

There was a weird thing I noticed that was said by the verified insider earlier in the thread. They said when they asked the teacher why she kept the destination a secret, she said "so that we wouldn't be followed". That seemed so weird, why was the teacher worried about being followed?! Was something else going in here?
I'm just not sure I buy alot of the statements that people seem to have said later on!

 

[DD Byrd]

Not to backcomb this point, but if other sites are to be believed, this wasn't just a comb.
Not sure if it was sentimental to her, but it may have been a big deal at the time. Much like getting ears pierced was a rite of passage to some, a brand like Mason Pearson would've been tres. Esp in the hair, lots of hair, 70s. But there doesn't seem to be any mention of the comb or jewelry besides the mention itself.

All to say, with different dogs hits, and the totality of this happening on the way back to the bus (where she'd be lost heading down as opposed to wandering up or fanning out), I think Trenny went to the road. If she went with someone she may have been encouraged, but certainly not dragged. From the road to wherever she is now is anyone's guess. It seems the facts have gotten interwoven with other internet discussions on her fate. I'm not convinced the reason she left is the reason she hasn't come back. Meanwhile, a brother's comment to watch her, and potential for the bus being followed wave giant red flags, but only if true, and only in a focused context.

I SAH would like to know how often a crying girl, walking on that road, regardless of being (now known) close to an MP scent trail, who is also not accounted for happens..., at Clingman's Dome of all places, on what is probably not an opening-attraction-at-Disney-World-busy-type of afternoon at 3pm. ETA: ...also not located happens....,AND makes enough of an impression to be noted in writing on an otherwise redacted report. Double ETA: How often does that scenario happen ANYWHERE? I'm trying to think of the last time I saw anyone, but let's go with a teenage girl specifically, walking down the road crying. I can make a valid argument against it happening and it not being Trenny, but statistically, for that day, at that point on the Earth, within that timeframe there are a lot of bells going off.

 

[Betty P]

After having read your posts on this thread, I would tend to agree with all of your analysis of what went down.
And that's a good insight about her personal life based on her feelings fore a comb! I kept saying to myself "it's a darn comb", I don't care if it was a gift or not...it was a comb!

Yeah, every one of the possible 3 or 4 potential ideas has some problem. I did consider that she had planned this but the thing that made me question myself was that it seemed so convoluted a way to do it rather than just grabbing your stuff from home and leaving. So I just figured maybe she said to herself "screw it, I'm outta here". But I agree, it does seem quite clear that she specifically headed to a waiting car.

There was a weird thing I noticed that was said by the verified insider earlier in the thread. They said when they asked the teacher why she kept the destination a secret, she said "so that we wouldn't be followed". That seemed so weird, why was the teacher worried about being followed?! Was something else going in here?
I'm just not sure I buy alot of the statements that people seem to have said later on!

Couple of things:

As someone who was a teenager in the 70s, I can’t imagine being emotionally or in any way attached to a comb. It’s a comb. She probably had more than one and hair brushes, too. From what I could tell reading about Trenny’s family, they were solidly middle class, if not more. They lived in a nice home. They could afford to give Trenny enough money to purchase combs and other grooming items, so the loss of a comb was not a big deal.

As for Trenny’s jewelry, she probably wore it that day and didn’t take it off or let other people hold it or wear it. I don’t recall girls that age sharing jewelry with other girls.

IIRC, the teacher’s concern about cars following the bus on the trip was to reduce the chance of students using the trip as a chance to skip school for the afternoon. Having some friends with a car follow and pick you up would have been a fun challenge for some It wasn’t easy to sneak off campus during the school day, but easier on a field trip. Lots of kids did it, especially on warm spring days.

I can see Trenny becoming upset and walking away from the crowd if other kids were bullying her. I don’t see her wandering off down the road to fend for herself and find another way home. She was pretty far away from home, with no phone to call for a ride. She seemed like a smart girl, so not likely to get into a car with a stranger, but anything is possible. It’s also unlikely she had a secret boyfriend who took her away. With no internet or cell phones and no car of her own yet, it wouldn’t be easy to hide phone calls from a secret boyfriend.