Photo: Getty Images
The remains of a hunter who went missing 53 years prior were discovered by another hunter in Idaho last week.
Lemhi County Sheriff Steven Penner told NBC News the remains of Raymond Jones, who was 39 when last seen on Sept. 7, 1968, were located by a man near the east fork of Hayden Creek near the city of Salmon on September 17, 2021.
The other man was hunting mountain goats at the time of the discovery, like Jones had done when he was last seen 53 years and 10 days prior.
Penner told NBC News the department received a report from the bow hunter regarding the discovered remains on Friday (September 17) afternoon, but were unable to recover the remains until the following morning.
A wallet carrying an ID still intact was discovered with the remains, correctly identifying them as Jones.
"It's a real rocky, cliffy area, and we are not really sure what happened," Penner said via NBC News. "He was in goat country, and that can be pretty perilous."
Penner said Jones was declared dead in 1970 and his family has since moved out of the area.
"The family will claim, and he will be turned over to them," Penner said. "It is still pretty fresh, so they probably need a little bit of time to figure things out."
An archived Associated Press article published by East Idaho News reports a search for Jones in 1968 included more than 70 individuals, a dog and a helicopter, but was eventually called off due to snowy weather.