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An avid hiker and “dedicated” volunteer at Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than two decades was found dead on the North Carolina side of the range nearly a week after going missing.
Ann Houghton, a 73-year-old resident of the Tar Heel State, was found dead a quarter mile away from Enloe Creek Trail around 1:53 p.m. on Sunday, the National Park Service said in a release.
Her cause of death has not been announced, but the National Park Service assured that no foul play is suspected.
“Ann was an enduring and beloved member of our Smokies Community,” said Charles Sellars, Acting Superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“She was a dedicated volunteer and avid hiker who shared her passion for the park with many visitors. Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers condolences to her family and friends,” Sellars said.
Houghton had originally departed for an overnight hike last Tuesday, but failed to return. Her coworkers reported her missing on Saturday after she didn’t show up for her shift at the park’s volunteer center.
After the volunteer’s vehicle was recovered at the Smokemont Campground, search efforts expanded to focus on the Bradley Fork, Chasteen Creek, Hughes Ridge, and eventually the Enloe Creek trails where her body was found, according to the press release.
A slew of local agencies banded together to find the beloved community member, including Cherokee Fire and Rescue, BUSAR, the Macon Volunteer Fire Department, the Cowee Volunteer Fire Department, the Appalachian Mountain Rescue Team and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the release said.
During her decades of dutiful work both hiking and serving Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Houghton racked up more than 4,000 volunteer hours.
A notorious hard worker, she took “few if any breaks in service since 2004,” the park service said.
In 2022, her efforts earned her a nomination for the coveted George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
The honor is “given annually to recognize the exemplary contributions National Park Service volunteers make to their park and to their community,” according to the National Park Service website.
“Having served in many different volunteer capacities over the years, Ann quietly draws from first-hand, boots-on-ground experience in interaction with curious visitors and new members of staff,” a statement about her 2022 nomination said.
“She has a gift for sharing vital information with children and adults, while giving them space to consider concepts and continue self-guided exploration, but often through a more wide-view, responsible lens.”
Acquaintances, coworkers, and strangers alike flocked the Friends of Great Smoky National Park Facebook to celebrate Houghton’s life and seemingly ageless spirit.
“I never hiked with Ann, but we did a lot of volunteer work together. She was pretty quiet and kept to herself but she worked right along side people half her age all day!! I was so shocked when I saw she had passed. But I think anyone that knew her would agree that her last moments being in the Smokies would be very fitting for her,” one volunteer wrote.
