Bigjay73
Well-known member
Discovery of bowhunter's remains after 53 years finally gives son closure
For 20 years the disappearance of Jeff Jones’ father gnawed at him.
www.spokesman.com
Hunters remains found in Idaho
- Thread starter Bigjay73
- Start date
www.spokesman.com
marksjeep
Well-known member
Wow. Thanks for sharing that.
Crazy story.
Hunted the Seven Devils area of Idaho about 15 years ago. We pulled into the trailhead and saw a helicopter about to take off. We made some small talk and asked what they were up to. The one guy goes “looking for a lost hunter.” We tell him we will keep a lookout, and ask how long he was missing for.
His face got a bit long, and he told us he had been missing for several weeks and it was pretty much a body search at that point. Put a weird vibe on the hunt for sure, I believe his body was finally found a few years later. That was the first time I really understood that I needed to take safety seriously on that type of hunt (or any type for that matter).
Hunted the Seven Devils area of Idaho about 15 years ago. We pulled into the trailhead and saw a helicopter about to take off. We made some small talk and asked what they were up to. The one guy goes “looking for a lost hunter.” We tell him we will keep a lookout, and ask how long he was missing for.
His face got a bit long, and he told us he had been missing for several weeks and it was pretty much a body search at that point. Put a weird vibe on the hunt for sure, I believe his body was finally found a few years later. That was the first time I really understood that I needed to take safety seriously on that type of hunt (or any type for that matter).
El Jason
Well-known member
Wow, what a story! Glad his son has the peace of closure.
shines@times
Well-known member
A friend sent me the link Tuesday. It is a sad story, though I venture to say it would be even sadder for family and friends to never know for certain what happened to their loved one.
A large and notorious barroom bully who liked to bear-hug his victims into unconsciousness was warned by my great-uncle Ray, a slightly-built man: "Don't #*^@#* with me, or I'll put a ball through you!" After failing to heed my uncle's warning, the man never bothered anyone else again.
I don't know why Ray chose to run rather than face the charges. His sister, after receiving a letter, informed Ray that the police were looking for him and asking his whereabouts from the family; she suggested Ray's best option was to keep moving. The shooting occurred in western PA or adjacent OH. The last letter from Ray said that he was "...headed for the gold fields." Given it was about the turn of the 19th to 20th century, "the goldfields" quite likely referred to The Klondike.
Now, I never met my great uncle Ray. That does little to assuage my nagging curiosity. What happened to Ray. Did he ever make it to "the gold fields?" Or, did he meet his fate somewhere along the way, perhaps one of the unnamed victims of the April 3, 1898 avalanche near Sheep Camp on the Chilkoot trail?
I have lived on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula the majority of my life. We've had our share of disappearances in this mountainous and heavily forested land. I wonder about the unresolved cases, like the tourist from Germany (my birth country) who disappeared about forty years ago while backpacking on the western portion of the peninsula. We also had a case of a missing hunter, a bank employee as I recall. Though there were no allegations of embezzlement, some speculated that he had staged his disappearance. That is, they did until a lost day-hiker from Crescent Lake stumbled upon his remains at the base of a cliff in the Barnes Creek drainage several years later. He'd apparently gotten turned-around himself, for he was well within Olympic National Park and miles from where he'd entered legal hunting territory. I saw his rifle after the recovery. I think he was wearing it slung across his back when he made the fatal plunge. The objective bell of the scope was bent into hard contact with the barrel, and the ocular was bent nearly to the bolt shroud.
Rest in peace to all the lost, and condolences to their families.
A large and notorious barroom bully who liked to bear-hug his victims into unconsciousness was warned by my great-uncle Ray, a slightly-built man: "Don't #*^@#* with me, or I'll put a ball through you!" After failing to heed my uncle's warning, the man never bothered anyone else again.
I don't know why Ray chose to run rather than face the charges. His sister, after receiving a letter, informed Ray that the police were looking for him and asking his whereabouts from the family; she suggested Ray's best option was to keep moving. The shooting occurred in western PA or adjacent OH. The last letter from Ray said that he was "...headed for the gold fields." Given it was about the turn of the 19th to 20th century, "the goldfields" quite likely referred to The Klondike.
Now, I never met my great uncle Ray. That does little to assuage my nagging curiosity. What happened to Ray. Did he ever make it to "the gold fields?" Or, did he meet his fate somewhere along the way, perhaps one of the unnamed victims of the April 3, 1898 avalanche near Sheep Camp on the Chilkoot trail?
I have lived on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula the majority of my life. We've had our share of disappearances in this mountainous and heavily forested land. I wonder about the unresolved cases, like the tourist from Germany (my birth country) who disappeared about forty years ago while backpacking on the western portion of the peninsula. We also had a case of a missing hunter, a bank employee as I recall. Though there were no allegations of embezzlement, some speculated that he had staged his disappearance. That is, they did until a lost day-hiker from Crescent Lake stumbled upon his remains at the base of a cliff in the Barnes Creek drainage several years later. He'd apparently gotten turned-around himself, for he was well within Olympic National Park and miles from where he'd entered legal hunting territory. I saw his rifle after the recovery. I think he was wearing it slung across his back when he made the fatal plunge. The objective bell of the scope was bent into hard contact with the barrel, and the ocular was bent nearly to the bolt shroud.
Rest in peace to all the lost, and condolences to their families.
EKYHunter
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Glad they found him. Life is precious.
EKYHunter
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Wow! That’s very interesting. Thanks for sharing that. Edited to add: sounds like Ray was just protecting himself.A friend sent me the link Tuesday. It is a sad story, though I venture to say it would be even sadder for family and friends to never know for certain what happened to their loved one.
A large and notorious barroom bully who liked to bear-hug his victims into unconsciousness was warned by my great-uncle Ray, a slightly-built man: "Don't #*^@#* with me, or I'll put a ball through you!" After failing to heed my uncle's warning, the man never bothered anyone else again.
I don't know why Ray chose to run rather than face the charges. His sister, after receiving a letter, informed Ray that the police were looking for him and asking his whereabouts from the family; she suggested Ray's best option was to keep moving. The shooting occurred in western PA or adjacent OH. The last letter from Ray said that he was "...headed for the gold fields." Given it was about the turn of the 19th to 20th century, "the goldfields" quite likely referred to The Klondike.
Now, I never met my great uncle Ray. That does little to assuage my nagging curiosity. What happened to Ray. Did he ever make it to "the gold fields?" Or, did he meet his fate somewhere along the way, perhaps one of the unnamed victims of the April 3, 1898 avalanche near Sheep Camp on the Chilkoot trail?
I have lived on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula the majority of my life. We've had our share of disappearances in this mountainous and heavily forested land. I wonder about the unresolved cases, like the tourist from Germany (my birth country) who disappeared about forty years ago while backpacking on the western portion of the peninsula. We also had a case of a missing hunter, a bank employee as I recall. Though there were no allegations of embezzlement, some speculated that he had staged his disappearance. That is, they did until a lost day-hiker from Crescent Lake stumbled upon his remains at the base of a cliff in the Barnes Creek drainage several years later. He'd apparently gotten turned-around himself, for he was well within Olympic National Park and miles from where he'd entered legal hunting territory. I saw his rifle after the recovery. I think he was wearing it slung across his back when he made the fatal plunge. The objective bell of the scope was bent into hard contact with the barrel, and the ocular was bent nearly to the bolt shroud.
Rest in peace to all the lost, and condolences to their families.
shines@times
Well-known member
Thanks, self-defense is the way I have always viewed it. I suppose it is about fifty years since my late father told me about the incident and, like I said, I don't know why Ray ran. I might have forgotten some details. Perhaps it was one of those cases where the deceased had a lot of vengeful relatives.
6cHunter
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Pretty surreal story, glad it ended with positive closure for the family. Makes you think.
Elkhunter24
Well-known member
Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed the article though a sad one.
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