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Hunter Takes Shortcut, Finds Body of Hunter Who Vanished in 1968

Raymond Jones had been hunting mountain goats in eastern Idaho
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 23, 2021 4:57 AM CDT
Updated Sep 26, 2021 6:28 PM CDT
Hunter Takes Shortcut, Finds Body of Hunter Who Vanished in 1968
Rugged Lemhi County has fewer than 8,000 people in an area bigger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.   (Roger Peterson/US Forest Service)

After Raymond Jones disappeared while bowhunting for mountain goats in eastern Idaho 53 years ago, more than 70 people joined the search and his brothers hired a helicopter, but no trace of the 39-year-old was found—until last week. Authorities say another man bowhunting for mountain goats in Lemhi County found Jones' remains Friday when he tried taking a shortcut from one hunting area to another. "It's a real rocky, cliffy area, and we are not really sure what happened," Lemhi County Sheriff Steven Penner tells NBC. Jones "was in goat country, and that can be pretty perilous."

"It’s pretty wild, ain’t it? You have another bowhunter looking for a shortcut who stumbled upon a bowhunter from 53 years ago," the sheriff says, per East Idaho News. The sheriff's office says deputies found a wallet with Jones' ID in it. Jones, a resident of county seat Salmon, was last seen heading to the Hayden Creek area on Sept. 7, 1968. The search began the next day after he failed to return to his camp, but it was hampered by severe snowy weather, reports KTVB. Jones' wife is still alive and the sheriff's office says family members have been notified. "It is still pretty fresh, so they probably need a little bit of time to figure things out," the sheriff says. (More Idaho stories.)

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