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Smoky Mountain Files

True stories, forgotten history and enduring mysteries from East Tennessee. Every file separates public records, archival reporting, public recollections and folklore.

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Latest Smoky Mountain File

U.S. Marshals Service wanted poster showing Gerald Lyle Hemp and an age-progressed image

Gerald Hemp, Jerry Whittier and the Cocaine Plane in the Smokies

Gatlinburg knew him as Jerry. Federal authorities knew him as Gerald Hemp. Then a cocaine-filled airplane landed in Sevier County—and both identities began to unravel.

July 23, 2026

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