Family holds onto hope that missing Idaho Falls hunter will be found
Published at | Updated at
HOWE — There is no sign of the 73-year-old man who disappeared last week.
Deputies from Butte County Sheriff’s Office and volunteers have been looking for Michael Faller of Idaho Falls.
On Sunday, search and rescue teams were out with a cadaver dog. Others on horses were also searching, according to family spokeswoman Ashley Countryman.
“There’s just no signs of him or even an animal if maybe he thought he had gotten one because he was hunting,” said Countryman. “There’s just no trace of anything.”
RELATED | Authorities searching for missing Idaho Falls hunter
Countryman told EastIdahoNews.com Faller went camping with his wife in the North Creek Road area of Butte County on Monday, Oct. 17. Faller went hunting and checked in with his wife at lunchtime on Monday and Tuesday. However, he did not return to his campsite to check in on Wednesday.
When he didn’t return by Thursday morning, Faller’s wife left the area to contact the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities organized search parties.
According to a Facebook post by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, searchers discovered Faller’s ATV off a trail. Shortly afterward they found his rifle, jacket and shirt leaning against a tree.
Countryman joined in the search and said the terrain and weather have been difficult. There is also no cell phone service in the areas that are being searched.
“The terrain is pretty tough. You have to have ATVs or 4-wheelers in order to get back there. Once you get up to where his location was, it’s pretty steep terrain. Saturday was pretty windy. It started to snow towards the end of the day. Yesterday (Sunday), there was a lot of snow. It got windy. It was very cold,” Countryman said.
Faller’s family is hoping he will be found.
“They are trying to hold on to that small glimmer of hope that he could still be alive, but at this point, they just want him found to bring him home, no matter the outcome, to get closure. They don’t want to just leave him out there,” Countryman said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Butte County Sheriff’s Office at (208) 527-8553.
“If people are hunting in the area, and they come across him, let law enforcement know,” Countryman said.
