An air operation just launched at 2:00 pm in an attempt to locate, and, if safe, to extract a distressed hiker with a hoist. The hiker has been identified as Steven Ainsworth, 56, from Washington North Carolina.

If winds are too high for a hoist operation an attempt will instead be made to drop supplies to the site if conditions allow.

Air operations are based out of Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport.

At 3:37 pm on Thursday, Nov. 1, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Dispatch received a 911 call through the Cherokee PD of a single male hiker in distress in a remote section of the Appalachian Trail somewhere between the Pecks Corner and Tricorner Knob Shelters. The call came directly from the hiker via cell phone.

Late Thursday the park dispatched two rangers by foot to the approximate ...