Body of 72-year-old man recovered from river in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

A body was found in one of the popular rivers running through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and authorities are not sure when — or how — the Tennessee man died, according to the National Park Service.

The discovery was made around 1:30 p.m Monday, May 9, in the Little River, about 1 mile west of Metcalf Bottoms, officials said in a news release.

Park rangers and members of Gatlinburg EMS/Fire said they found 72-year-old Charles Queen “partially submerged in the middle of the river.”

“A technical swiftwater rescue team recovered the body, which was released to the Sevier County Medical Examiner’s office,” the park said.

“No witnesses have been identified to the events leading up to the discovery and there were no obvious signs of foul play. An autopsy will be performed to assist in determining the time and cause of death.”

A vehicle belonging to Queen was found pulled off the road about “600 feet upriver along a steep embankment,” officials said.

Queen is from the unincorporated Bybee community in Cocke County, about 40 miles north of the national park.

An obituary reports Queen had a semi-professional wrestling career under the name “The Renegade,” and often wrestled with teammate Gene “Chief Thundercloud” Morefield. Queen was originally from Cherokee, North Carolina, and retired from International Paper Company, the obituary reports.

The boulder-filled rivers in the national park are known to be unpredictable, due to swift water level rises that follow rain in higher elevations.

Eighteen miles of the Little River run through the national park, and Metcalf Bottoms is “a flat area” between Gatlinburg and Townsend, according to TNvacation.com.

This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Body of 72-year-old man recovered from river in Great Smoky Mountains National Park."