~ PVN staff report
LURAY, Sept. 2 — Search operations for a missing Tennessee man concluded shortly after 1 p.m. on Saturday when he was “successfully” located in the southern part of Shenandoah National Park near Ivy Creek in Greene County around mile marker 77.5 on the Skyline Drive.
Jerry Bailey, 75, was found “in good spirits,” according to park officials, three days after last being seen on Wednesday, Aug. 30. He was initially reported missing on Thursday, Aug. 31. Bailey’s backpack was found at the Pinefield Hut, around mile marker 75.2, that same day, and the park launched full-scale search operations on Friday, Sept. 1.
All trail closures within the national park have now been lifted. A trail closure was previously put in place in areas along the Appalachian Trail between Ivy Creek Overlook (mile 77.5) and Simmons Gap (mile 73.2) due to search operations.
The combined efforts of the national park and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management located the 75-year-old man from Springfield, Tenn. at about 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2. Although he was “in good spirits” when he was found, “family and responding Rangers suggested he needed a full medical evaluation,” according to park officials.
Both the park and VDEM publicly thanked several other organizations that were involved in the search, including the Blacksburg Rescue Squad, and volunteer search and rescue organizations such as K9 Alert, Shenandoah Mountain Rescue Group, Tidewater Search and Rescue Group, Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group, Mid-Atlantic D.O.G.S., Virginia Search and Rescue Dog Association, DOGS-East Search and Rescue, Black Diamond Search and Rescue, Virginia Search and Rescue Dog Association, Rockingham-Augusta Search and Rescue, Christian Aid Ministries Search and Rescue, Search and Rescue Tracking Institute, and Department of Conservation and Recreation.
For more information about Shenandoah National Park,
visit https://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm
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