Mitzie ‘Susan’ Clements’ family thanks crews

The family thanked a number of parks employees for their dedication and support, including Chief Ranger Jared St. Clair, Incident Commander Joe Pond, Operations Chief James Latendresse and family Liasion Florie Takaki.

“We also want to thank the countless other people who helped look for Susan,” the statement said. “The kids, her sisters, and I greatly appreciate the intense work they performed for us, and we will be eternally grateful.”

Search effort had manpower, technology

Park officials searched the immediate area that night without success. They next day, a group of experienced searchers spent the night on the Appalachian Trail, attempting to find Clements and interview any hikers in the area.

The search continued to grow in size and scope as crews braved rain, fog, wind and temperatures in the 40s to scour the densely wooded, mountainous area of the park, which straddles Tennessee and North Carolina.

Officials closed Clingmans Dome Road and set up a command post there. Verizon brought in a portable cell tower to help remedy the poor cellphone service. Crews employed helicopters, canine teams and specialized search-and-rescue drones as the number of agencies contributing to the effort continued to climb. By Tuesday, more than 100 people from 45 agencies had joined the search.

Teams used satellite GPS units to keep track of which areas had already been searched. Scientists with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory stitched together aerial photographs from their drone, assigned coordinates to each pixel, and searched the photographs for colors such as the gray in Clements’ tennis shoes.

Campbell, the park spokeswoman, said officials also worked with doctors who shed insight into the types of behavior Clements might exhibit under various circumstances.

“There’s a lot that goes into managing a search, a lot of technology and psychological science as to what people do in these situations,” Campbell said Tuesday.

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Clements worked for city of Cincinnati, had 3 children

Clements had worked since December as an accounting technician in the administration department of the City of Cincinnati’s Metropolitan Sewer District, according to a statement from the district.

Before that, she worked for UC Health and Trinity Health System, both in the Cincinnati area, according to social media posts. Cleves, the small town Clements hailed from, is about 16 miles northwest of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld said words couldn’t do justice to the sadness of Clements’ death, whom he called a “beloved mother, friend and longtime employee of the city of Cincinnati.”

“We will pull together to do everything we can to support her family, friends and co-workers during this time of grieving,” he said. “My colleagues and I, and the whole city workforce, will also ensure we find a meaningful way to remember and honor her.”

Co-worker David Stephens, an IT service manager for the sewer district, told The Enquirer that Clements was a cheerful person, with a friendly greeting at the ready for “everyone she saw in the office.”

“To know someone that something so terrible happened to is awful,” Stephens wrote in a message. “I imagine it will affect us all in some way, especially the folks in business services, her work group.”

Stephens added he and Clements exchanged small talk occasionally when she walked by his office for ice water.

Another colleague spoke with Stephens earlier Tuesday about Clements’ disappearance.

“All he kept saying was, ‘I just talked to her,’” Stephens said.

Clements’ family did not speak to the media during the search except to say she was a “wonderful mother to three children.” She was hiking with her youngest daughter on this trip.

Elizabeth Clements, another of Clements’ daughters, created a GoFundMe on Tuesday to assist with family expenses during the search effort. As of Tuesday night, the campaign had raised over $4,000.

“Since my family is from the Cincinnati, Ohio area, we have decided to start a GoFundMe page to help cover the unexpected travel expenses that come with staying in the area for this search process,” she wrote on the fundraising page.

“More than anything, we would appreciate your continued prayers for my mom to be located safe and soon. We are so incredibly thankful for the many organizations helping make this search possible, and for each individual search member for being so kind, supportive, and positive throughout this entire process.”

The City of Cincinnati said Clements’ brother-in-law, who is a firefighter, traveled to the park with some of his colleagues to help out with the search. Park visitors reported seeing her former husband and other family members passing out flyers bearing her picture.

Park officials previously said foul play was not suspected in Clements’ disappearance. They did not immediately offer further details once her body was found late Tuesday afternoon.

“Our hearts are with the family and friends of Ms. Clements,” the park said in the release. “The park would like to extend our appreciation to the many agencies and organizations that participated in the search effort.”

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