A Silver Alert issued for a missing 61-year-old Knox County woman has ended with relief for investigators and family: Kimberly Cole was found safe Wednesday afternoon, less than a day and a half after she vanished on foot near Cunningham Road.
Cole was last seen around 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office, as reported by WVLT. The station placed her near the intersection of Dry Camp Pike and Cunningham Road, while WATE identified the cross street as Dry Gap Pike and Cunningham Road in North Knox County — the two outlets differ on the exact roadway, but both agree she disappeared from that general area around the same late-morning hour.
Investigators said Cole has a medical condition that could make it harder for her to get back to safety on her own, according to WIVK. The station's report described her as a Black woman standing about 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing around 175 pounds. When she was last seen, she was wearing a black hoodie, a black dress with black leggings underneath, and tan moccasins, and she was carrying a backpack, per the same account. She was believed to be traveling on foot when the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued its Silver Alert, following the Knox County Sheriff's Office's request for public help finding her.
Alert Canceled After Confirmation She Was Safe
By Wednesday afternoon, TBI confirmed Cole had been found safe, bringing the search to a close. The sheriff's office had asked anyone with information to call 1-800-TBI-FIND or its own line at 865-215-2243 while the search was underway.
How Tennessee's Silver Alert System Works
Tennessee's Silver Alert program applies to people at least 60 years old whose whereabouts are unknown and who are believed to be in danger because of age, health, mental health conditions, physical disability, or environmental conditions, according to the article notes. The alerts can also be activated for a person of any age with dementia, or for adults with an intellectual, developmental or physical disability who are believed to be in danger or unable to return to safety without assistance.
The program was codified into Tennessee law in 2021, with the statute taking effect July 1 of that year. Once a Silver Alert situation arises, local law enforcement must begin investigating immediately and notify TBI within four hours, and the bureau is then required to notify media outlets within 12 hours.
Cole's case follows a string of similar alerts across the state in recent months. A Monroe County woman was found safe after a TBI Silver Alert in April, and a 69-year-old Franklin County man was found safe following a Middle Tennessee alert last month. A separate Silver Alert was issued in September for a missing Montgomery County man believed to be driving a 2017 GMC Terrain.
