Thomas Long was found dead in the L&N Train Yard in Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 21, 1978, the victim of a violent confrontation. The yard’s isolated, sprawling terrain and transient population complicated the initial investigation, and detectives were unable to develop a public lead that produced suspects or arrests.

The case went cold and was filed among unsolved homicides, but the Knoxville Police Department’s Cold Case Unit has periodically reviewed the evidence in hopes that fresh analysis or forensic advances might produce new leads. The family and community continue to seek answers about Long’s final moments and who was responsible.

If anyone has information about that September 1978 death or remembers activity in the L&N Train Yard around that time, please share what is known.