It has been 10 or 12 years ago that I saw a mountain lion on the Natchez Trace near Sutton Hill. It was late afternoon but it was a good sighting. I have always had an infinity for mountain lions and have seen many in zoos and there was a couple in Cherokee that had some in captivity. While in the navy, my wife worked at a boarding kennel and we lived on the premises. One of the clients had one as a pet so I knew what I was looking at as soon as I seen it.
With the range (up to 50 miles) many of the sightings mentioned in this forum, could be the same animal. As to the color, they have a darker under coat and in the right lighting and other conditions could look very dark though usually not actually black.