It's been three years since a Gatlinburg businesswoman was discovered dead inside her SUV at the bottom of a steep embankment.
Investigators first thought Shannon Hercutt's death was an accident, but an autopsy later revealed she had been murdered.
Her case remains unsolved, but now, Hercutt's sister is hoping a bigger reward will finally lead to some answers.
"I've got stand up and keep pushing to try to find justice for my sister and put this murder or murderers behind bars," said Hercutt's sister, Penny Stephens.
On Friday, the three-year anniversary of her sister's death, Stephens announced that the reward in the case was more than doubling.
The state had previously offered up a $10,000 reward, but Stephens says she is now adding $10,000 more, and Auntie Belham's Realty and Nightly Rentals is chipping in another $5,000, bringing the total to $25,000.
"Any little information, if you seen her or talked to her, you just don't know what that might help," Stephens said. "The hardest part for me is to know that this person is out there, getting away with it, they think."
Stephens also expressed frustration with the district attorney's office and the pace of the investigation, adding that she is losing hope there will ever be an arrest in her sister's murder.
"We want this thing resolved as much as they do, you know," Sevier County Sheriff Ron Seals said. "I don't want no family to go without some closure, and closure would be find the individual that did this heinous crime and bring them to justice, so we're going to continue working on it forever as long as I'm here."
The sheriff said his investigators had it rough from the start, given they learned it was a murder case days after it happened.
They now believe Hercutt was beaten in the head at her home, then placed in the SUV and pushed off the embankment on Walker Trail.
The sheriff said the case is far from cold, adding that his investigators are still following up on leads and waiting for more test results.
"We get frustrated with the way the system's going, too, but I would rather take my time and get the evidence to convict this individual and make sure we have a conviction as to go in a court and have an acquittal," Sheriff Seals said.
And so, he, too, hopes an increased reward will bring in new information and new tips and, perhaps, finally bring closure to a family now aching for three years.
"What keeps me motivated is that I know my sister would do the same thing for me and that she wouldn't want me to give up, and also, my daughter, her and my daughter were so close, and I gotta keep doing this for our family, for Shannon," Stephens said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Sevier County Sheriff's Office at 865-453-4668.