UPDATEMissing Bledsoe County man found dead
Bledsoe County authorities and family and friends are searching Dayton Mountain for a man missing since sometime Thursday, officials said.
Darrell Smith, 45, was last seen around 8:30 a.m. CDT Thursday as he was headed out to hunt ginseng near state Highway 30 and Porch Rock Road, according to Bledsoe County dispatchers and sheriff's Detective Ricky Seals.
Dispatchers described Smith as a white man, about 5 foot 6, weighing about 130 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair.
He could be suffering from medical conditions, according to family members.
Family members said Smith had water and food when he left Thursday, but it's not known how much he was carrying with him or how long it would last, according to authorities.
Seals said Smith was supposed to have met up with family members around 4 p.m. at the Bledsoe Farmers Co-Op on state Highway 30 in Pikeville, but he never showed up.
Searchers are also looking in the area of Upper East Valley Road, Lower East Valley Road and Old Dayton Mountain Highway north and south of the Farmers Co-Op.
Seals said he believes Smith would be familiar with the area where he was last seen.
Anyone with any information on Smith's whereabouts should call the Bledsoe County Sheriff's Office at 423-447-2197 or the Bledsoe County 911 Center at 423-447-5555.