The family of a missing law professor is pleading for help and holding onto hope as private search teams returned to Blood Mountain for another day of searching.

60-year-old Charles Hosch, a longtime attorney and law professor in Dallas, Texas, disappeared last month while hiking a trail he knew well from childhood. Hosch grew up in Gainesville and was visiting relatives in Georgia when he stopped for what was supposed to be a familiar walk through the mountains. 

He never returned.

His daughter, Julia Hosch, spoke with CBS News Atlanta and described her father as a man whose life has always been defined by service, faith, and compassion.

"Dad is professionally a lawyer, but if he weren't a lawyer, he would have been a preacher," she said. "When you are speaking to my dad, you are the only one he is speaking to. He can find something fascinating in everybody."

Days of searching, and now a community steps in

Union County Search and Rescue crews combed the mountain for days before scaling back their official efforts. Since then, Hosch's family has launched a private search operation, bringing in K-9 teams and volunteers from across the Southeast.

That support, Julia says, has been humbling.

"We have stayed in homes while we've been here — people who found us through media offered their cabins," she said. "We just could not be more grateful to have found ourselves in Blairsville."

She believes that generosity reflects the kind of life her father has lived: mentoring Boy Scouts, teaching thousands of law students, leading Sunday school, and showing up for people in both joy and crisis.

"The community he has built is pretty special," she said. "They are now rallying around us in an incredible and inspiring way. It's really humbling to be the recipient of that outpouring of love."

"It's still a possibility."

As search teams prepare to return to the mountain at first light, Hosch's daughter says the family is balancing realism with hope.

"The best case scenario is he has very convincingly hidden himself under a rock or found some cave and shelter… and is just hanging out waiting for us to go get him," she said. "And it's still a possibility."

Tomorrow, more volunteers and private search crews will continue covering rugged terrain around Blood Mountain, one of North Georgia's most remote and heavily wooded hiking regions.

Hosch's family continues to wait — and pray — for answers.

How you can help

The family has released updated information and resources for those who want to volunteer or support the ongoing private search effort.

You can find details here.