Search continues for missing SMU Law Professor in North Georgia
Search continues for missing SMU Professor in Georgia
The search is ongoing for 67-year-old SMU law professor Charles Hosch, who has been missing since Tuesday after disappearing during a short hike in northern Georgia.
DALLAS - It’s been five painstaking days as the search for SMU professor Charles Hosch continues.
FOX 4 spoke with his daughter, who is out in Georgia combing through the forest looking for her dad.
Disappearance details
What we know:
The man they’re searching for is Charles Hosch.
A 67-year-old Southern Methodist University law professor who has been missing since Tuesday after he decided to take a short hike on a nearby trail in northern Georgia
His wife had tried calling him on Wednesday and when he didn’t answer, that’s when his daughter Julia Hosch says the family knew something was wrong.
"But that was also one of the things that tipped us off, that he was very much in trouble Wednesday morning, is because he is always reachable, and so the fact that he wasn't was enough to send up serious alarm bells," said Julia.
SMU law professor reported missing on Appalachian Trail
A search is underway in north Georgia for Charles Hosch, an adjunct professor at SMU’s Dedman School of Law from the Dallas area, who went missing after hiking near the Appalachian Trail in Georgia earlier this week.
Search and rescue efforts began almost immediately as the race against time began.
This weekend, the local sheriff's office asked hunters in the area to check their game cameras in the area to see if there have been any sightings.
Hypothermia and survival
What they're saying:
"Some of his challenges is going to be, you know, of course, food, water, hypothermia, if not, you know, the first couple of nights that he was out there, it was, it was really cold here," said Chief Shawn Dyer of the Union County Sheriff's Office.
A daughter's hope
Julia has been in Georgia trying to get into her father’s mind as she searches.
"And I think we've done a lot on this trip of trying to think like dad, trying to imagine what might have happened and which trail he might have taken. And when you have to think like dad, you also have to be both practical, extremely forward-thinking and optimistic," said Julia.
She prays that a choice her father made as a young boy will keep him alive.
"So, we are still operating very much that he is alive and something has happened, and he's using that Eagle Scout training and knowledge to keep himself warm, sheltered and just needs some help being found," said his daughter.
Julia refuses to let her hope dwindle as she continues her search.
"He sees the world as it could be, and he chooses to see the best in it. And so, it is impossible to give up when you're looking for somebody that you know would never give up looking for you."
Call for public assistance
What's next:
Hosch’s family and the search and rescue teams are asking anyone who might have been in the area between Tuesday and Thursday and might have photos or know anything to reach out to the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
The Source: Information in this article was provided from an interview conducted by FOX 4's Vania Castillo. Additional information was provided by the Union County Sheriff's Office and previous FOX 4 reporting.