FINAL UPDATE!...
Okay, so the 182 was NEVER missing!! It made a scud run from Lousiville to a small private strip in North Carolina! Center had everyone in an uproar over an airplane that was never missing! I'm extremely glad everyone is okay and that it was just a misunderstanding that ATC started :banghead:! Apparently, they were watching him (he had filed no flight plan) and when they lost radar contact they assumed he had crashed (or he was going to). While flying 500AGL the whole way is perfectly legal, IF he didnt bust any clouds, it's still looked at as risk-taking. Glad it all turned out okay!!
...and as far as the "eyewitness" account of a plane going down......we ALL know how that goes!