This Idaho bow hunter discovered the remains of another hunter who went missing 53 years ago.
On Friday afternoon, an Idaho hunter accidentally stumbled upon the remains of a man who had been missing for more than half a century.
As Daily Mail reports, the missing hunter has been identified as Raymond Jones. He went missing on September 7, 1968, at the age of 39. At the time, he had been looking for mountain goats in the east fork of Hayden Creek in Lemhi County.
The man who found the remains of Jones’ body contacted the Lemhi County Police.
Sheriff Steve Penner noted the area where the hunter disappeared was “perilous” because of the rocky and rough terrain.
Speaking to a local news outlet, he said:
“The hunter was seeking a shortcut from one hunting area to another when he found human remains and then contacted the sheriff’s office. Due to the lack of remaining daylight and ruggedness of the terrain, recovery efforts began on the morning of the 18th.”
The police got in touch with Jones’ family shortly after identifying him.
Sheriff Penner continued:
“It’s pretty wild, ain’t it? You have another bowhunter looking for a shortcut who stumbled upon a bowhunter from 53 years ago.”
Back in 1968, two days after the hunter disappeared, a team of 70 people and an aircraft launched a search for him.
Due to heavy snow, the search was briefly halted. According to an article from the Associated Press on September 15, 1968, it reopened after footprints were found near the area of Jones’ disappearance.
Unfortunately, the case was eventually abandoned, and in 1970, Raymond Jones was declared dead.
In a statement in The Recorder-Herald in 1968, his family said:
“The family of Raymond J. Jones wish to take this means to try to express the deep appreciation to all you people for the many sacrifices afforded us during the search for Ray.
We wish to thank those who so generously provided food for the hunters on the mountain and in the home, those who gave of their time and equipment, and to all who helped in any way.
We wish to thank you for the moral support you gave us, both on the mountain and in Ray’s and Donna’s home. All we can say is ‘Thank you, may God bless each and every one of you.
We can never repay you for all you have done, but feel that you will receive your reward from a higher power; for Christ said in Matthew 25, verse 40, ‘In as much as you have done it unto the last of these, my brethern, you have done it unto me.'”
