Accident Database

Report ID# 119467

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  • PFD Not Worn or Present
  • Does not Apply
  • Inexperience
  • One Boat Trip

Accident Description

Noccalula Falls is 90 Feet High; pool at bottom. Serious rapids below pool. High water

 

UPDATE: Body found of missing woman at Noccalula Falls 

Local 3 News, Chattanooga, TN

May 27, 2025

UPDATE: Emergency crews have found the body of a missing 51-year-old mom at the gorge of Noccalula Falls on Tuesday, May 27.

Regina Smith, 51, was last seen on a raft in Black Creek, according to the Gadsden.

Birmingham NBC affiliate WVTM, reports emergency crews found her body shortly before noon. Her husband said the couple was with the kids in the beach area playing in the water with a floatable device when she went around the bend and then wasn't there.

Noccalula Falls Park, both the falls and the campground, are still open, but visitors are being asked to avoid the gorge trail and area near it.

PREVIOUS STORY: A family and emergency crews are still searching for a 51-year-old woman that went missing Sunday at Noccalula Falls in Gadsden, AL. Regina Smith was last seen floating near the beach before she went around a bend in Black Creek, and out of sight from her family.

The search began in earnest Sunday evening as her husband of 33 years Jerry Smith said, "Then she waved at the kids, and then they said, 'Come on, it's getting a little late,'" according to Birmingham NBC affiliate WVTM.

Swift water rescue teams were also been dispatched for the search.

The search resumed but was paused early Monday morning because of storms in the area.

Visitors have been asked to avoid the Gorge Trail and area near it as the search continues.

 

Son of Noccalula Falls drowning victim mourns loss of his water-loving mom

 
GADSDEN, Ala. — Emergency crews found the body of a missing 51-year-old mom at the gorge of Noccalula Falls on Tuesday. Regina Smith, 51, was last seen on a raft in Black Creek, according to the city of Gadsden.

Emergency crews said her body was found in a news conference shortly before noon on Tuesday.

Smith’s oldest son, Dawson, talked about his mom to WVTM13’s Lisa Crane. He said he doesn’t think she realized the danger.

“I started hiking this trail when I was 11 years old, and I've went all down the banks all the way down the creek and back, and I never realized how severe those rapids were. And I believe that my mom didn't understand that either. And I think that she was just in this relaxing area that, you know, barely moves... And it just transitions from that to whitewater rafting level rapids. And if you don't understand that, that's a very high risk. I don't think she knew that," Dawson said.

Dawson said he could tell others are unaware of the danger as well.

“Even yesterday, when we were all out here searching, there was, 15 to 20 people just swimming in the area that my mom went missing. And there was kids, teenagers. They were trying to cross the rapids, trying to walk across them. And when we saw them, we said, 'Hey, like, if you fall in, you're going to die. You're going to drown.' I do think it would be nice if there was even just some type of a sign or something letting you know that there is hazard beyond this point, much more hazard than just a pool of water," Dawson said.

Dawson is 25, he has a 21-year-old sister and an 18-year-old brother.

“My brother, he graduated two weeks ago on Tuesday. He was the one with my mom when she went missing. And my sister is very distraught," Dawson said. "My sister, I don't even know if she just went home in three days. She's been here every second. She wanted to find her mom. And I was in Oklahoma when my mom went missing. I found out within the hour that she went missing, boarded a flight at 4 a.m. and flew home. And we've been out here ever since.”

Dawson said his mom loved nature and was having a great day on Sunday.

“My mom loved the water. My mom lived on the lake. Every trip we got, we would go to the beach. And we just loved water. That's been something in our lives growing up, and the last thing that my mom said before she disappeared out of everyone's sight was. She said, this is the best day of my life," Dawson said.

Dawson believes there should be signage or some indication the white water is dangerous. He said he believes his mom would’ve heeded the warnings. “There’s a difference in enjoying nature and trying to challenge nature further than you should. And I think that she would have," Dawson said. "I mean, if there's a rope, a red rope that's telling you, hey, this is the point that you don't go past, then people usually adhere to that.”