Missing man in Great Smoky Mountains National Park describes near-death experience

Ryley Ober, Asheville Citizen Times
·5 min read
14

Lying by a riverbed, falling in and out of consciousness after losing a life-threatening amount of blood, a missing hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had what he called an “out of body experience.”

Jacob Riggs, 35, of Knoxville, went for a hike to his usual camping spot on top of a mountain ridge in the Tremont, Tennessee, area of the national park on Monday, April 8. He wasn’t seen again until April 10. According to park rangers, after a search and rescue operation was initiated, a park visitor spotted him in the Tremont area around 8 a.m. April 10 in recognizable need of medical care.

Riggs, a self-described avid hiker who recently completed 72 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smokies, told the Citizen Times April 17 that he fell “violently ill” once he reached his camping site. As an emergency medical technician for 10 years, Riggs said he gave himself an IV with a bag of saline to replace some lost fluids, but passed out with an open IV line in his arm.

Jacob Riggs recently completed 72 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On April 8, he went missing in the Great Smokies for two days after suffering a medical emergency.
Jacob Riggs recently completed 72 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On April 8, he went missing in the Great Smokies for two days after suffering a medical emergency.

“I’m just bleeding out unconscious for at least eight hours apparently because when I woke up it was dark,” Riggs said, adding that he administered the IV around lunchtime.

Riggs said he knew there was a creek about a 20-minute walk down the mountain. But after he woke up, the trek took him the entire second day of his time in the woods because he’d “walk maybe two steps then collapse since I lost so much blood.” Yet, he said he was “operating on instinct” and his only focus was to get to water.

Previous reporting: Park visitor finds missing man in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NPS says

“I finally crawled (to the water), dunked my head in there and just spent the next night passing out, sucking stream water,” Riggs said.

As he was laying there that night, Riggs described an experience similar to stories he’s been told from people he’s brought back from cardiac arrest while working in firefighting and EMS, he said.

“I was very aware of what was going on and all of a sudden I just got this overwhelming peacefulness rush over me,” Riggs said. “I have a very vivid memory of seeing myself from above, just lying there. But it was like there was nothing to worry about, I was like, he’s got nothing to worry about.”

Jacob Riggs, a self-described avid hiker, went missing in the Great Smokies April 8 and was found two days later. He said he had an "out of body experience" after he lost blood from falling unconscious with an open, self-administered IV line in his arm.
Jacob Riggs, a self-described avid hiker, went missing in the Great Smokies April 8 and was found two days later. He said he had an "out of body experience" after he lost blood from falling unconscious with an open, self-administered IV line in his arm.

After something snapped him back to consciousness, Riggs said he drank some water, underwent the final push back to the parking lot, where the park visitor found him and brought him to an Incident Command Post near the Townsend Wye, just under a mile after the Townsend entrance to the park.

Over the next few days, Riggs said he was given multiple blood transfusions as well as IVs to replenish his fluids in the intensive care unit at Blount Memorial Hospital.

He’s feeling better now, he said, but offered some advice to fellow hikers: “Always carry your phone, even though the park has bad service, it does have an SOS signal. I made the mistake of not carrying my phone with me.”

“Always stay on the trail, don’t deviate from the trail, because that’s exactly what I did and that’s how you find yourself in trouble.”

Trail closure: Great Smokies will have weekday closures of trail leading to park's tallest waterfall

Update on investigation and others missing in Great Smokies

The park averages about 100 search and rescues each year, park spokesperson Emily Davis said. A total of 10 agencies helped search for Riggs, but no additional information is available as the case is still under investigation, she said.

Davis confirmed the park is still conducting “a limited, but continuous search” for Gordon Kaye, 69, of Tampa, Florida, who went missing in the park last year. Kaye was last seen April 23, 2023, near a backcountry campsite in the Deep Creek area of the park near Bryson City in Swain County.

Park rangers searched for another missing person last year, who was found dead April 16, 2023, near Low Gap Trail in the Cosby, Tennessee, three days after the search began. Authorities have yet to release their identity.

“The Cocke County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the individual’s identity and cause of death,” Davis said April 17. “Foul play and environmental factors were not suspected.”

More: Active field search in Great Smoky Mountains National Park for missing Florida man ended

More: Great Smoky Mountains National Park search called off after missing person's body found

Tips for staying safe while hiking

“Many outdoor emergencies are a result of people being ill-prepared for their hike, or from hikers ignoring basic park guidelines,” Davis said.

“We are fortunate at GSMNP to have a staff of highly skilled Preventative Search and Rescue rangers, funded by Park it Forward, who go out on the trails, educating hikers about park safety and responding to incidents and accidents.”

Among the safety advice rangers offer is to always let someone know where you're hiking and when you plan to return and to carry extra food, water and a first aid kit. See more in the Hiking safety tips box and visit www.nps.grsm for more on hiking in the Great Smokies.

Hiking safety tips

  • Don't hike alone. You are safest with a group.

  • Leave your hiking plans with someone at home and check in frequently. Establish a time you will check in upon completion of your trip, as well as a procedure to follow if you fail to check in.

  • Be wary of strangers. Be friendly, but cautious. Don't tell strangers about your plans. Avoid people who act suspiciously, seem hostile, or are intoxicated.

  • Bring a map and compass and know how to use them.

  • Carry a cell phone.

  • Bring extra food and water.

  • Bring extra layers of synthetic clothing. Avoid cotton, which doesn’t dry quickly and can lead to hypothermia when it’s wet. Bring rain gear.

Source: National Park Service and previous Citizen Times reporting

More: Great Smoky Mountains National Park among top parks in the country for search and rescues

Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Missing man in Great Smoky Mountains said he was close to death