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Trenny Lynn Gibson 1976 TN; Age 16
Topic Started: Jun 3 2009, 01:55 PM (1,009 Views)
rain
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http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/425dftn.html
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dogperson
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This case is featured in a book I own by Juanitta Baldwin, I think it is called something like "Unsolved Mysterious Dissappearances in the Smoky Mountains". Not sure if I got the exact title right. I'm from this general area so these missing persons cases from the area are of interest to me. If what is written in the book is correct, it sounds likely that someone took her from the park that day. Cigarette butts were found in the area where she was last seen and also at the spot near the road where she was tracked by dogs. She didn't smoke & the butts were all the same brand. Several different dogs on different days tracked her to the same spot. The whole field trip on that day sounds bizarre to me as Trenny's mom states that the parents weren't notified where the students were going that day & it was a surprise to the students when they got on the bus to find out they were going to the national park. Trenny's mom says no permission slips were asked for & she probably would have refused permission on this day as the weather was so bad & Trenny wasn't really dressed for it. Plus, leaving the park at 3:30 wouldn't have put them back in Knoxville until pretty late. How would the parents know what time to pick their kids up if they didn't even know where they went? Some websites list rumors that Trenny ran off with a man that day on purpose but I don't see how he would have known where to meet her if Trenny herself didn't know where she was going. The book only lists one chaperone for the entire group of students that day. It sounds to me as if the school system was as much at fault as anyone. Regardless of that, it sounds like Trenny must have made it out of the park to the roadway. It seems like she'd have been found if she was killed in the park because how would a fellow student or someone nearby have been able to get the body far enough away that the search dogs didn't pick up a scent? Anyway, interesting and very sad case. I do recommend Juanitta Baldwin's book for reading, especially as the latest printing includes a letter written by Trenny's mom.
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lola77
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I think someone was alone in the bushes(corny as it sounds!)and waited for Trenny or whomever to get separated from the others, then they made their move. It was a chance encounter and she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I think they then walked her to the highway and made their escape. The one thing that bothered me was in the book, Trenny's classmate, Robert Simpson seemed to know a bit more than what he was telling. He told Tina, Trenny's sister, that Trenny was either killed by Kelvin Bowman or ran off with some horny hitchhiker. It almost seemed that he was trying to deflect attention from himself somehow. I don't think he had anything to do with her death, but I think he may have seen something.

I enjoyed the book, but I wish it had gone into a bit more detail.
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