Widespread search planned for SMU professor who went missing 4 months ago while hiking in Georgia

The family of a missing SMU professor announced another widespread search four months after he went missing while hiking in Georgia.

DALLAS — Four months after an SMU Law professor went missing while hiking on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, another widespread, professional search is planned.

Charles Hosch, a 67-year-old Dallas lawyer and professor, was last seen on Nov. 11 descending the Appalachian Trail by two separate witnesses near the peak of Blood Mountain, according to his family.

March 11 marks four months since Hosch initially went missing. His loved ones are planning a large-scale professional search operation on March 14 and 15.

“As spring foliage returns to the mountain, search conditions will become increasingly difficult,” an update from the team continually searching for Hosch reads. “Professional search and rescue groups familiar with both Blood Mountain and working in coordination with Union County are encouraged to join the effort.”

Hosch, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the co-founder of Hosch & Morris, PLLC, in Dallas. He is also an adjunct professor at the SMU Dedman School of Law.

His students at SMU mourned his absence in the classroom shortly after he went missing, WFAA previously reported.

The search for Hosch has been particularly challenging due to the terrain on Blood Mountain, officials said.

“The terrain is extremely challenging—dense brush and thick rhododendron cover obscure the ground, while boulders, cliffs, and rocky outcroppings create countless hidden space,” the search team said. “The mountain’s rugged landscape means that much of the terrain remains obscured and hard to search thoroughly, despite everyone’s best efforts.”

More than three months after Charles Hosch vanished during a Veterans Day hike on Georgia’s Blood Mountain, a search team has reportedly discovered fresh footprints deep in the rugged wilderness where the 67-year-old Dallas attorney and SMU law professor was last seen. The find, emerging amid intensified spring searches in mid-March 2026, has injected cautious optimism into an otherwise protracted and frustrating effort—but it has also complicated the mystery rather than resolving it.

Hosch disappeared on November 11, 2025, while hiking the Byron Herbert Reece Trail, a familiar route tied to his childhood memories of the area. The Appalachian Trail segment climbs to the summit of Blood Mountain—Georgia’s highest peak at 4,458 feet—offering stunning views but treacherous terrain of steep drops, dense brush, rocky outcrops, and seasonal hazards. Surveillance captured Hosch arriving at the trailhead, and two witnesses spotted him descending from the summit that afternoon. After that, he vanished without a trace.

Initial searches were massive and multi-agency. The Union County Sheriff’s Office deployed ground teams, helicopters, drones, K-9 units, and volunteers from neighboring states. Despite covering extensive areas—including trails, creeks, and off-path debris fields—no signs of Hosch surfaced. By late November 2025, formal operations paused due to harsh winter conditions and dwindling leads, though the case stayed active.

Hosch’s family refused to relent. They launched bringcharleshome.com to centralize updates, coordinate volunteers, and sustain public awareness. Private funding supported professional search managers, specialized teams, and repeated “pushes” through December 2025 and January 2026. Volunteers endured freezing temperatures in cold-weather operations, scouring zones previously deemed inaccessible. The #BringCharlesHome movement grew, drawing support from hiking communities, legal colleagues in Dallas, and SMU’s academic circles, where Hosch was remembered as a brilliant, kind mentor.

As March 2026 arrived—marking four months since the disappearance—efforts ramped up dramatically. Spring foliage threatened to obscure visibility further, prompting a large-scale professional operation planned for March 14-15. Family announcements and media reports from outlets like People Magazine, NBC DFW, WFAA, and The Dallas Morning News highlighted dozens of volunteers and experts converging on Blood Mountain. Teams focused on grid searches near the parking area and potential off-trail paths Hosch might have taken.

It was during these renewed sweeps that the footprints reportedly surfaced. Searchers—likely part of volunteer or professional groups—located what appeared to be human tracks deep in the woods, away from main trails. Descriptions circulating in online discussions and missing-persons networks suggest the prints were fresh enough to indicate recent human presence, possibly post-disappearance. In a landscape where weather and wildlife can erase or mimic signs quickly, such a discovery could point to someone traversing the area long after Hosch went missing.

Yet the footprints raise far more questions than they answer. Do they belong to Hosch himself, perhaps indicating he survived initially and moved deeper into the wilderness—maybe injured, disoriented, or seeking shelter? Or are they from another hiker, a searcher who strayed far off-path, or even unrelated activity in a popular recreational zone? Without clear matching features—like boot sole patterns consistent with Hosch’s known gear, or proximity to other evidence—the tracks remain ambiguous. No official confirmation from authorities or the family has tied them definitively to Hosch, and major news coverage as of mid-March 2026 emphasizes the ongoing search rather than hailing this as a breakthrough. The Union County Sheriff’s Office has not publicly detailed forensic follow-up, such as casting the prints or cross-referencing with known footwear.

Theories abound. The area’s steep, unforgiving nature supports accident scenarios: a fall from a ridge, slip into a ravine, or injury leading to exposure. Hypothermia remains a leading risk, even for fit, experienced hikers like Hosch. Foul play has never been fully excluded, though no evidence of struggle, crime, or third-party involvement has emerged. The footprints could suggest someone else entered the search zone recently, perhaps complicating scent trails for K-9s or indicating unauthorized activity.

Family statements continue to convey determination mixed with heartache. They describe Hosch as a devoted father, intellectual, and outdoors enthusiast who knew the mountain well—making his disappearance all the more baffling. Colleagues praise his legal acumen and teaching passion, while the broader community rallies with flyers, social media amplification, and volunteer calls.

As vegetation thickens and weather improves, searches persist. The footprints serve as a tantalizing but frustrating clue in a case defined by silence. They remind searchers that the wilderness can hold secrets for months—or longer—while underscoring the slim window for resolution. Until casts, DNA-linked items, or additional context emerge, the prints deepen the enigma: Whose steps were these, and why now, deep in the place where Charles Hosch was last known to walk?

The quest to bring him home endures, fueled by love, persistence, and the faint hope that one small sign—like these tracks—might eventually lead to answers.