Park rangers are continuing their search for a 53-year-old Ohio woman who has been missing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since Tuesday.

Mitzi "Susie" Clements of Cleves, Ohio was reported missing after becoming separated from her daughter while hiking near Clingmans Dome, officials said.

Clements is an employee of the Cincinnati City Department of Sewers, according to Acting City Manager Patrick Duhaney, who sent an email to the mayor and Cincinnati City Council Thursday to relay the news.

She was last seen about 5 p.m. Tuesday when Clements and her daughter were hiking on the Forney Ridge Trail, approximately a quarter-mile from Andrews Bald. They split up with a plan to reunite at their vehicle.

But Clements never returned.

"This is not easy news to digest and the City family is praying for a positive outcome to this situation," Duhaney wrote.

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Park officials began searching the immediate area Tuesday night without success. The search was expanded Wednesday, with additional personnel joining the effort. A group of experienced searchers spent the night on the Appalachian Trail, attempting to locate Clements and to interview any hikers in the area.

As of Thursday morning, approximately 40 members of the park's search and rescue team were looking for Clements.

Clingmans Dome Road is closed until further notice to have "better and safer access to the area," park spokeswoman Julena Campbell said.

Rain and fog have complicated search efforts.

"Visibility is very low," Campbell said. "It's very foggy. The rain certainly makes things more slippery in walking on the muddy trails. And then at this point, we have people off-trail working in the drainages and areas like that. So it’s difficult to travel through those areas anyway, and then you add rain and fog."

Campbell said crews weren't planning to search overnight Thursday but were preparing to employ additional resources — such as tracking dogs and helicopters — if necessary.

Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld told The Cincinnati Enquirer that city employees are like one big family, "so it's scary to have one of our own missing."

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He added that he told Duhaney he would support deploying city resources or personnel to help find Clements.

Clements is described as a white female, with light brown hair and blue eyes, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and 125 pounds.

She was last seen wearing a green zip-up sweater, black workout pants over black leggings, a clear rain poncho and white tennis shoes.

Anyone who saw Clements on Tuesday afternoon or since then is asked to contact the National Park Service's Investigative Services Branch at 1-888-653-0009, by email at nps_isb@nps.gov or at www.nps.gov/isb.