Incredible story: Bowhunter finds lost bowhunter after 53 years

[robby denning]

And his ID was still readable in his wallet!

'It's pretty wild.' Hunter finds remains of man missing for 53 years - East Idaho News

SALMON — A bow hunter looking for a shortcut Friday stumbled upon the remains of a man missing for 53 years. Raymond Jones, a 39-year-old from Salmon, has been missing since 1968. He was bow hunting for mountain goats in the east fork of Hayden Creek in Lemhi County when he was last seen on …

www.eastidahonews.com

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[Don Qui Puncher]

That’s so crazy it’s hard to believe no one got close enough to see the remains in 53 years

 

[robby denning]

That’s so crazy it’s hard to believe no one got close enough to see the remains in 53 years

Man I was thinking the same thing, there’s so many people that hunt up that drainage, there’s been threads on here complaining about how much pressure there is in that unit. It’s amazing to me nobody ran across him in all that time. Glad his wife was still alive to find out what happened to him.


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[Trr15]

Crazy story for sure! It’s nice to know his wife was able to get some closure after all these years

 

[Customweld]

Man I was thinking the same thing, there’s so many people that hunt up that drainage, there’s been threads on here complaining about how much pressure there is in that unit. It’s amazing to me nobody ran across him in all that time. Glad his wife was still alive to find out what happened to him.


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53 years is a helluva long time to not have any closure. It is amazing that everything stayed intact enough for a positive identification.

 

[ODB]

That’s amazing. I can’t imagine how his wife must feel. After all this time and having moved on, no doubt, she must have had a rollercoaster of feelings when they told her.

 

[Rob5589]

Wow, a literal needle in the haystack.

 

[HuntInWild88]

Wow that is crazy! Myself and a group of friends stumbled upon human remains 13 years ago. She was in a shallow grave 20 yards from a small parking area where my buddies had been having campfires and hanging out fishing all summer long. It wasn't until one day my buddy wondered off into the woods to take a dump and found a bunch a bones and wanted me to confirm they weren't deer or something. Well they definitely were not deer. Unfortunately they never ID'd the remains. Crazy thing she had been there for approximately 3 months and they were able to recover the skin from her back and there was a large tattoo that was still visible.

 

[Rokbar]

Wow that is crazy! Myself and a group of friends stumbled upon human remains 13 years ago. She was in a shallow grave 20 yards from a small parking area where my buddies had been having campfires and hanging out fishing all summer long. It wasn't until one day my buddy wondered off into the woods to take a dump and found a bunch a bones and wanted me to confirm they weren't deer or something. Well they definitely were not deer. Unfortunately they never ID'd the remains. Crazy thing she had been there for approximately 3 months and they were able to recover the skin from her back and there was a large tattoo that was still visible.

Sad thing is there is a family that will not get closure. Scary thing is, her killer is still roaming around.

 

[Desk Jockey]

The hunter finding a fellow hunter thing intrigues me. Two hunters +50 years apart with the same idea to cover the same terrain. it reminds me about the commonality of hunters’ habits and approach through time and connects me to the idea that I am doing something old, even ancient.

one of my Bowhunting favorite things is to mobile ambush hunt deer in the northeast. One of my proffered techniques is to sit in a rock ledge or outcropping overlooking a trail Or travel corridor. Sometimes I find a spot that is just perfect. Like it was made for me. I often wonder how many human hunters and even big cats have hunted that same spot for how many thousands of years. I guess it makes sense. Deer are doing basically the same thing they have done for ever. What works for one hunter still works for me.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

That is remarkable that the remains were visible after 53 years. I guess it would have been very rocky where the dirt would not have had a chance to aide in decomposition. Not much looks the same after 53 in the woods.

 

[robby denning]

That is remarkable that the remains were visible after 53 years. I guess it would have been very rocky where the dirt would not have had a chance to aide in decomposition. Not much looks the same after 53 in the woods.

Especially an ID and a wallet. I’m not even sure if they were laminated back then


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[HUNT.HARD.82]

I wonder what he died from? Good that his wife finally got closure. I'm surprised nobody has asked what FOC his arrows were haha.

 

[Evol]

Wow that is crazy! Myself and a group of friends stumbled upon human remains 13 years ago. She was in a shallow grave 20 yards from a small parking area where my buddies had been having campfires and hanging out fishing all summer long. It wasn't until one day my buddy wondered off into the woods to take a dump and found a bunch a bones and wanted me to confirm they weren't deer or something. Well they definitely were not deer. Unfortunately they never ID'd the remains. Crazy thing she had been there for approximately 3 months and they were able to recover the skin from her back and there was a large tattoo that was still visible.

Curious where that was? I know someone who runs a missing person site and would like to forward that onto them.

 

[HuntInWild88]

Curious where that was? I know someone who runs a missing person site and would like to forward that onto them.

It was lake thunderbird Oklahoma. If you Google baby found lake thunderbird Oklahoma labor day 2008. You can find it.

 

[robby denning]

I wonder what he died from? Good that his wife finally got closure. I'm surprised nobody has asked what FOC his arrows were haha.

There’s already a thread over on Archery talk about it ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha


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[Stubborn_bowhunter]

That's surreal.
I wonder how the guy died.

Shows you how fast stuff can happen. Guy probably was looking for a shortcut too.

 

[CorbLand]

That’s so crazy it’s hard to believe no one got close enough to see the remains in 53 years

It is but at the same time its not. I once found a glass 7up bottle with the slogan "You like it, it likes you" on it. Which was used in the 30's. It was 15 feet from a very main trail. All my brother and I did when we found it was cut off the trail to save ourselves 10 feet of walking to the road. It was literally 10 feet from a road and 15 feet from a horse trail.

Granted, I know the size difference is dramatic but all it takes is someone turning the right/wrong direction each time.

 

[HuntInWild88]

Sad thing is there is a family that will not get closure. Scary thing is, her killer is still roaming around.

Oh absolutely. Still cary a bit of remores to this day. Knowing that she was someone's daughter and a mother. It really makes you wonder. How could someone be missing and then found but never identified. The tattoo was sent out to all local artists seeing if anyone recognized it.
My dad always had a feeling he would stumble upon remains but never did.
I'm glad this guy was able to be identified and his family has some closure. Of course the "how" may never be answered.

 

[EastHumboldt]

The hunter finding a fellow hunter thing intrigues me. Two hunters +50 years apart with the same idea to cover the same terrain. it reminds me about the commonality of hunters’ habits and approach through time and connects me to the idea that I am doing something old, even ancient.

one of my Bowhunting favorite things is to mobile ambush hunt deer in the northeast. One of my proffered techniques is to sit in a rock ledge or outcropping overlooking a trail Or travel corridor. Sometimes I find a spot that is just perfect. Like it was made for me. I often wonder how many human hunters and even big cats have hunted that same spot for how many thousands of years. I guess it makes sense. Deer are doing basically the same thing they have done for ever. What works for one hunter still works for me.

A couple years ago I found a pair of spear points in a high spike camp. Really made me feel connected to those old hunters, and many times I’ve found a spent cartridge case when stand hunting from this or that rock high on a ridge. The weapons change but human nature and deer nature don’t.

I've often thought I’d like to go when I’m hunting, but it’s very inconsiderate to the other hunters in camp.