Sgt. Mark Kimsey, left, and Detective Ed Merritt of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office talk Thursday on East Brow Road in Signal Mountain. Officers closed the road to check out a red vehicle in the woods that was believed to belong to Gail Palmgren. The vehicle was identified as hers, but no body was found.
Gail Palmgren. Contributed Photo
Gail Nowacki Palmgren’s red Jeep Rubicon, with a flowered “Life is Good” spare tire cover that was last seen driving. The 44-year-old women has been missing since April 30, 2011.Map
Jeep's Location
Dogs will try to find traces today of a 44-year-old Signal Mountain woman whose crimson Jeep was found Thursday on the side of the mountain, seven months after she disappeared.
Gail Palmgren has not been seen since April 30, when she dropped off her children, then ages 9 and 12, at the family home on Ridgerock Drive. Since then, no one has heard from her.
Her remains were not found with the Jeep, which has the personalized Alabama tag reading “EAZY ST,” a reference to the street address of her lake home in Wetumpka, Ala.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office investigators and recovery crews will begin searching today for any trace of Palmgren. They also will begin the task of getting the Jeep off the side of the mountain, which may require airlifting the vehicle, officials said.
Aerial searches Thursday located the Jeep and an unrelated vehicle. Authorities believe Palmgren’s vehicle veered off the cliff on East Brow Road, then tumbled toward the W Road.