On July 14, 2017 at approximately 11:49 PM Jim Wyles, 66 yrs old from Tennessee, called Perry County Dispatch to report that his friend Ken Tucker, who was also in his 60’s, was lost in the Ouachita National Forest.

Mr. Wyles stated that they were camping at Lake Sylvia, he and Mr. Tucker had went riding on the mountain bikes when Tucker had a flat. Wyles had kept riding, Tucker stated that he had GPS and would be ok to find his way back to Lake Sylvia. Wyles got worried when nightfall came and Tucker hadn’t shown up to camp.

Dispatcher Donna Harmon tried pinging Tucker’s phone, but was unsuccessful. Deputy Cathy Byrd and Game and Fish Officer Robbie Stout worked through the night trying to locate him. After hours of driving the U.S. Forest roads Deputy Byrd had a hunch that the bicyclist would be in a well light area, so she drove to Hollis and found him at the Hollis Fire Department. Officer Stout meet them there and took Mr. Tucker and his bicycle back to Lake Sylvia. The search and rescue lasted until approximately 4:42 AM.