Missing hiker found tied to a tree near Asheville
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Asheville police are trying to find answers after a missing hiker was found tied to a tree on Friday.
National Park Service rangers have released a description of a man they think is responsible.
The 64-year-old woman was reported missing in Buncombe County Friday afternoon. A woman who called 911 identified herself as a caregiver for the woman. The caller said she was receiving texts from the woman, whom authorities found and took to a hospital.
Rescue workers searched for an hour before they found her tied to a tree along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
According to an emergency radio call, rescuers thought she was barely alive.
Park officials think it was an isolated incident, and visitor facilities in the area remain open.
A Park Service release describes the suspect as a white man about 50, with graying hair and a partial beard. He was wearing a gray T-shirt, baggy blue pants and dark tennis shoes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
