About the Search for Charles M. Hosch
Last updated: November 25, 2025
Further updates are available here:
https://www.bringcharleshome.com
For media inquiries and opportunities to help, visit:
https://www.bringcharleshome.com/contact-honor-help
Our law partner and dear friend, Charles M. Hosch, has been missing since Tuesday, November 11, 2025, when he set out for a hike on the Byron Herbert Reece Trail near Blood Mountain in Union County, Georgia—an area he has known and loved since his youth in nearby Gainesville.
We’ve launched a dedicated website to helping bring Charles M. Hosch home. Please visit and share:
November 25, 2025
Log of Search and Rescue Operations
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Union County has paused its active search operations while awaiting new information or clues. Today’s search produced no new findings after almost two weeks of exceptional, round-the-clock efforts. This does not mark the end of the search; the case remains active, and search and rescue personnel will continue to pursue any new clues or credible information that arises.
We are forever indebted to the search and rescue teams who navigated treacherous terrain in challenging conditions with heroism, skill, and tireless dedication. Their commitment to finding Charles has been nothing short of remarkable, and we will be always grateful for their courage and compassion.
Our own search efforts will continue. We are planning the next phase and will share details as they develop. Please check this website in the days and weeks to come.
In this moment of uncertainty, we turn to Charles’s favorite verse, John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Charles has been that light to so many—his family, his students, his colleagues, his friends, his community. His wisdom, kindness, selflessness, and unwavering integrity have illuminated countless lives, and his light burns in every heart that loves him.
We carry that light with us as we search. We will not stop. We will bring him home.
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Multiple dog teams, search and rescue personnel, family members, and community volunteers deployed to the Blood Mountain Wilderness area today but were unable to locate Charles. Dog team operations will be suspended indefinitely. Formal search and rescue efforts will continue for one more day tomorrow. We are praying for a miracle and remain grateful to every person who has searched, supported, and hoped alongside us.
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Today’s search was strengthened by Blairsville community members, including the Chief of Operations for the Union County Fire Department, who has been leading all search and rescue efforts from the beginning. While we did not find new clues today, we remain hopeful that tomorrow’s deployment of the dog teams will yield positive developments. We are grateful for the unwavering support of this community and all who continue to search.
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We continue our search for Charles this morning with renewed determination. While formal operations are paused, we are conducting focused search efforts with experienced hikers and former military personnel on the ground, supported by drone operations. The weather conditions are better than forecasted.
While we look for Charles, we want to share his words with you—the benediction he offered at the close of his final class. In these words about living a life of purpose, you’ll find the wisdom, grace, and hope that Charles has always embodied. May his voice guide us forward, just as it has guided so many.
To Charles’s students, colleagues, and all who love him: we have not stopped, and we will not stop. We will find him. -
Dog teams conducted extensive searches in a narrowed area today but were unable to obtain definitive hits. With significant rain expected tomorrow, formal search operations will be suspended temporarily.
We remain profoundly grateful to the 268 search and rescue professionals who have dedicated themselves to finding Charles. -
Search dogs have detected additional indications in two primary scent pools. Dog operations will continue tomorrow, though rain may present challenges. Search efforts will proceed regardless of weather conditions. We are deeply grateful for the commitment, compassion, and grit of all search and rescue teams.
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Today’s search efforts yielded encouraging developments:
Today’s Operations:
• Additional K-9 indications have been identified
• Drone operations continued throughout the day
• Additional personnel joined ground search teams
Tomorrow’s Plan:
The same focused strategy will continue, with specialized K-9 teams remaining deployed in the area.
Reminder: We are asking that no media helicopters or aircraft fly over the Blood Mountain search area. Please continue helping us spread this message.
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IMPORTANT REQUEST FOR MEDIA:
We are deeply grateful for media coverage helping to spread awareness about Charles’s disappearance. However, we urgently request that no media helicopters or aircraft fly over the Blood Mountain search area.
Aerial media presence interferes with critical search operations, including:
• Drone reconnaissance and tracking technology
• K-9 search teams that require minimal noise and air disruption
We understand the desire for aerial footage, but these operations could significantly compromise search effectiveness and delay efforts to locate Charles.
We will provide updates and information as they become available. Thank you for respecting the needs of search and rescue operations and helping us bring Charles home safely.
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Search and rescue teams received a strong indication from K-9 units near the Appalachian Trail, giving them a specific area to concentrate their search efforts. This development will allow search teams to focus their resources on a targeted location.
Tomorrow’s operations will continue with additional K-9 teams. Multiple teams will be deployed to priority search areas.
The search continues with determination and hope.
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Critical Request for the Public:
Multiple specialized K-9 teams, including an electronics detection dog, have been deployed today in the search for Charles. To give these dogs the best possible chance of finding Charles, we are asking all people and dogs to stay off of Blood Mountain until further notice.
Keeping the area clear of other scents is essential to the success of these highly trained search dogs.
Please help us spread this message. If you know hikers, dog walkers, or anyone planning to visit Blood Mountain, please share this request with them.
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As the search for Charles enters its sixth day, teams continue comprehensive operations:
Today’s Operations:
• + Ground teams retraced previously searched areas while also covering new terrain
• + Drone operations continued throughout the day
• + Daily mobile alerts (similar to Amber Alerts) continue being distributed to increase public awareness
Search teams have worked tirelessly through some of the toughest terrain in Georgia, covering extensive ground in challenging conditions.
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Primary K-9 teams will implement a focused strategic approach based on all intelligence gathered throughout the search effort.
Please note: We will receive a briefing tomorrow evening. Please continue checking the firm’s website for further updates. For media inquiries, please contact Julia Hosch at Julia.Hosch@gmail.com.
We remain grateful for the heroic efforts, compassion, professionalism and continued dedication of all search and rescue personnel and the tremendous support from the community, our friends, families, and countless others who have offered their support.
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Today’s Search Efforts:
• 95 search and rescue professionals are actively working in the field
• K-9 units continue tracking operations
• Drone operations are being deployed
Critical Information About Charles’s Route: Throughout his life, Charles has hiked the Byron Herbert Reece Trail to the top of Blood Mountain on the Appalachian Trail (AT)—a route he knows well. We have confirmed that he was descending from the top of Blood Mountain when he was last seen.
Charles is a creature of habit. We believe that he intended to hike down Blood Mountain but lost his way. This information is helping search teams focus their efforts along the most likely path Charles would have taken on his return journey.
We will bring him home.
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Please continue liking and reposting the following post on LinkedIn on all social media platforms. Continued attention will help us find Charles: https://bit.ly/4oiOpdL
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Julia Hosch will remain available for media inquiries. Please contact julia.hosch@gmail.com.
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Visual Sighting on Tuesday Afternoon: A credible source reported spotting Charles and having a conversation with him descending from the top of Blood Mountain on Tuesday, November 11th, at 1:30 PM.
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Search efforts have significantly expanded and now include more than 50 search and rescue professionals, multiple K-9 teams, helicopters, a drone team, and expanded search areas. Efforts continue around the clock.
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There have been positive canine indications of a place on the trail where Charles likely went, which gives the search team some confirmation that he was the trail, and his family and friends some new hope for the search tonight and tomorrow.
Extensive Search Efforts Continue
An intensive search and rescue operation has been underway since Wednesday afternoon, involving:
+ Dozens of trained search and rescue officers
+ Specialized K-9 units
+ Aerial support including helicopters and drones
+ Advanced technology and tracking resources
+ Additional search and rescue teams arriving today to expand the effort
The Union County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department, along with multiple agencies (both within and outside of Georgia), continue working tirelessly in the challenging terrain of the Blood Mountain Wilderness area.
About Charles
Those who have worked with Charles or sat in his classroom know him as more than a brilliant legal mind—he is a genuinely kind and profoundly sincere person who approaches every challenge and every individual with wisdom and generosity. A Harvard Law School graduate, Charles has dedicated more than three decades to mentoring law students at SMU Dedman School of Law and has been a cornerstone of our legal community. Charles was partner at Strasburger & Price, LLP for 35 years before co-founding Hosch & Morris, PLLC — both communities that he considers both colleagues and family. To his peers and students alike, he is not only an exceptional attorney and teacher, but a wonderful friend whose unwavering reliability and warmth have touched countless lives.
Charles and his beloved wife Beth met in college and have been married for 42 years. He is a devoted father to his daughters Julia Hosch Singh and Mary Catherine (Cat) Hosch; father-in-law to Aditya (Adi) Singh; brother to Heyward Hosch and brother-in-law to Julie Schieve; uncle to four nieces and nephews; and a loved member of close-knit extended family. Most recently, he could not be prouder to be a new Grandpa to his treasured granddaughter. A former Eagle Scout who has volunteered with the Scouts for years, Charles teaches Sunday school at University Park United Methodist Church and lives by the values he learned in Scouting: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, cheerful, brave, and reverent.
Originally from Gainesville, Georgia, Charles has deep roots in North Georgia and intimate knowledge of these mountain trails he has hiked throughout his life.
Physical Description
Charles is 6’1”, approximately 200 pounds, with white hair and glasses. He was last seen wearing khaki pants, a camel-colored sweater, and a dark green jacket.
How You Can Help
If you have information regarding Charles’s whereabouts:
+ Contact Union County Emergency Operations Center: (706) 439-6091
+ Or dial 911 if in Union County, Georgia
Share on social media:
You can also help by sharing missing persons information about Charles on social media to increase visibility and reach those who may have information about his whereabouts.
For coordination of direct support only:
If you are able to provide direct, on-the-ground assistance or resources to aid in the search efforts, please contact Kate Morris at Hosch & Morris, PLLC. Please note that due to limited cell phone reception in the search area, response times may be delayed. We ask that this line be reserved only for those offering tangible, specialized support.
Our firm, along with Charles’s family, SMU Dedman School of Law, and his church community, remain hopeful and grateful for the extraordinary efforts of all search and rescue personnel and the outpouring of support from the community.
We will continue to provide updates as they become available.