Three independent surveys for undescribed members of the Noturus elegans species complex in the middle and upper Tennessee River drainage were conducted between 1993 and 2001. These surveys encompassed 104 collections made at 92 sites in Alabama and Tennessee. A total of 10 chucky madtoms was captured from two upper Tennessee River localities on Little Chucky Creek, Greene County, TN. Nine of these specimens were collected in September 1994, and the tenth in March 2000. No specimens were captured during three visits to Little Chucky Creek in 2001. No N. elegans species complex madtoms were collected in the middle Tennessee River drainage. Additional work is required to demonstrate the continued existence of these extremely rare fishes before recovery measures can be implemented.