By Craig Mintz, Staff Writer

Gatlinburg

December 23, 2003

The new television drama "Cold Case"premiered on CBS this fall as the Gatlinburg Police Department marks the 29th anniversary of its own cold case.

A cold case is an old case that never came to resolution, due to lack of evidence or suspects. It remains unsolved.

On Dec. 22, 1974 an unidentified woman's body was discovered under the Tramway down the mountain from the Ober Gatlinburg parking lot.

W.B. Ogle, who was the police chief at the time, said hikers found the body.

"We had the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the park service but nothing ever turned up," he said.

Gatlinburg Police Capt. Randy Brackins, who was a cadet at the time, said former Detective Lester Rowland had a sketch made of the unidentified woman about 10 years ago but nothing turned up at that time either.

The cause of death was unknown due to decomposition of the body. Investigators initially thought the body was found about 30 days after the death of the victim, according to The Doe Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to solving cold cases of unidentified victims. However, a Knoxville medical examiner determined the body had been there anywhere from six months to a year, said Gail Williams of the Doe Network.

The Doe Network gives the following description of the victim:

She was a 34- to 38-year-old woman. She was approximately 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds.

She had light brown hair, cut fairly short with lots of hair located in the region of the remains.

She was wearing short brown men's socks and no shoes. Her coat and sweater were folded neatly beside her where she had been sitting on them. She was wearing a white button-down Sweettree sweater, a size 36A bra, a dark blue coat, extra-large dark blue knit Mayer-Land-Marquis pants and a white short-sleeved shirt with a floral design of yellow flowers.

There was no sign of a purse or any identification.

The Doe Network states the remains of the body are located at what has been dubbed by crime novelist, Patricia Cornwell, "The Body Farm", behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

If anyone has information about this woman's identity, please contact the Gatlinburg Police Department at 436-4212.