Around noon on June 5, a sweaty man walked into the Walasi-Yi Interpretive Center near Dahlonega, Georgia, about 30 miles northeast of Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The man put his keys on the counter and told a clerk he鈥檇 pay her $200 if she鈥檇 watch his car.

How long will you be gone? she asked.

Four to six months, he said.

A few days later, hikers reported seeing a backpack in the middle of the AT, about a quarter mile from the . It hadn鈥檛 been moved in days.

Local sheriff鈥檚 deputies fetched the pack and found brand new gear inside鈥攈iking boots, a GoPro camera, a GPS system, tent, and a sleeping bag. They also found a wallet containing the driver鈥檚 license of a 50-year-old Wisconsin construction worker named Paul D. Paur.

Sergeant Darren Osborn of the Union County Sheriff鈥檚 Office tracked down Paur鈥檚 girlfriend outside Milwaukee. She told him Paur had suggested he was taking a sabbatical and had withdrawn $5,000 from the bank and split. She was frantically worried about his mental health.

鈥淗is girlfriend was very concerned,鈥� Sergeant Osborn said. 鈥淗e had prepared for a hike, but he just left it all behind. What made it even more strange was the $3,000 he left in his backpack.鈥澛�

Sheriff鈥檚 deputies for Paur and tacked 鈥渕issing person鈥� fliers to trees suggesting that Paur was possibly suicidal.聽

鈥淪HOULD YOU COME INTO CONTACT, DO NOT APPROACH,鈥� the fliers said. 鈥淎LSO, SHOULD YOU COME INTO CONTACT WITH AN UNFAMILIAR ODOR, PLEASE MARK THE AREA AND NOTIFY UNION COUNTY SHERIFF鈥橲 OFFICE IMMEDIATELY.鈥�

In the following days, several hikers called the sheriff鈥檚 office to report seeing a northbound AT hiker wearing a T-shirt, khaki shorts, and flip-flops. The man was sleeping inside a trash bag, and he said he was walking the 2,000 miles to Maine鈥檚 Mount Katahdin. In Georgia, he was seen at Deep Gap on June 7 and at Plumorchard Gap on June 8. On June 10, he was sighted at the Standing Indian shelter, across the state line in North Carolina. One person who shared a shelter with Paur said he was reading the New Testament and talking about religion.聽

鈥淗e was saying he was trying to find God,鈥� Osborn said, 鈥渟earching the pathway of the mountains.鈥澛�

Paur鈥檚 brother Richard joined the search from Wisconsin, calling AT hostels and state parks. A week ago, on June 17, Richard Paur said, someone saw his brother at North Carolina鈥檚 Wesser Bald, in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, roughly 100 trail miles from where he started.

鈥淭hey sat around the fire and talked four or five hours,鈥� Richard says. 鈥淭hey said he was carrying a black duffel bag with a few aluminum pots.鈥� The hikers, concerned that Paur was unprepared, offered him about a week鈥檚 worth of food, which he willingly accepted. 鈥淢y level of concern is to make sure he鈥檚 got what he needs,鈥� Richard says. His brother is strong, weighs about 230 pounds, and is an avid hunter and fisherman.

Osborn still considers the missing person case open and he has contacted officials farther north. But law enforcement may not have any authority to force Paur off the trail, even if a recent report had him walking barefoot.聽

鈥淭hey could try to get him some help,鈥� Osborn said. 鈥淚f they feel like he鈥檚 mentally capable to continue on, they鈥檒l let him.鈥澛�

Word of Paur鈥檚 unusual journey has spread through the trail community, and reactions have run the gamut. Some say Paur needs help if he鈥檚 mentally unstable. Others say he鈥檚 come to the right place to find what he鈥檚 looking for.

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