Great Smoky Mountains search for missing man increases to 180 rescue workers from 3 states

The search for a man missing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Haywood County intensified from 30 search-and-rescue personnel to 180.

Kevin Mark Lynch, 58, of Woodbridge, New Jersey, was reportedly last seen July 27 walking along the boundary of the park at the Swag resort near the Cataloochee Divide Trail. This is in the Purchase Knob area of the park near Maggie Valley.

On July 29, 13 search teams composed of a more than 30 agencies were conducting on- and off-trail search operations, according to a park news release. 

Lynch is described as a white male approximately 5-feet-5-inches tall and 150 pounds with brown, salt-and-pepper hair and brown eyes, according to park officials.

He is a guest at the luxury Swag, visiting the area with family, said park spokeswoman Jamie Sanders. She said he was not hiking and had no camping gear with him, but was "just exploring the grounds,” when he went missing. 

Lynch was last seen wearing brown cotton shorts, a brown shirt with a picture of a white-tailed deer, and a camouflage baseball cap. Lynch suffers from dementia and may be confused about his location, she said.

The park is asking anyone who has seen Lynch after July 27 to call Great Smokies dispatch at 865-436-1230.

MORE: Rangers search for man missing in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Search efforts in Smokies

Teams are navigating through dense vegetation and difficult terrain in the remote southeast area of the park "looking for any evidence of human travel."

Park officials requested the assistance of six canine search teams through Haywood County Emergency Management. In total, 180 searchers, investigators, and incident command personnel are involved in the search effort.

"Search operations remain limited to a select number of trained searchers to enable a systematic, thorough search of the area. By limiting the number of searchers in the area, rangers have the best chance to find Lynch quickly. Dog teams and trackers can be hampered by additional people in the area when searchers are looking for signs of hiker travel," according to the park statement.

The Swag and Purchase Knob area sit at a high elevation of 5,000 feet, which means it gets much colder at night than the surrounding valleys.

RELATED: Park Service seeks information in Smokies death

Sanders said the longer someone is exposed to these temperatures without adequate clothing, and with the forecast of rain, the greater the chances of hypothermia, a dangerous lowering of the body's temperature.

The Smokies, a half-million acres of rugged, remote, heavily forested terrain on the WNC-Eastern Tennessee border, has about a hundred calls for search and rescue a year. Most are resolved within a day or two, according to park officials.

RELATED: Autopsy reveals hypothermia cause of missing woman's death in Smokies 

Agencies assisting with the search effort include: Appalachian Mountain Rescue Team, Buncombe County Rescue Squad, North Carolina Public Safety Prison Division, South Carolina Search and Rescue K9 Unit, Sevier County (Tennessee) Search and Rescue, Sevier County Volunteer Rescue Squad, Backcountry Unit Search and Rescue team (BUSAR), Canton Police Department, Centerview Rescue Squad, Cosby Volunteer Rescue Squad, Chattanooga Rescue Squad, Haywood County Search and Rescue, Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, Civil Air Patrol, Haywood County Rescue Squad, Cataloochee Ranch Wranglers, Connestee Fire Rescue, Haywood County Transit, Haywood County Emergency Management, Haywood County Communications, Randall’s Adventure and Training Search and Rescue Team, Transylvania Rescue Squad, Brevard Fire Department, Asheville Fire Department, Henderson County Rescue Squad and Great Smoky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team.