BOISE COUNTY, Idaho — After seven years, the family of a hiker who went missing in 2016 now has closure. Crews found the remains of Jack Thomas in Boise County. Thomas disappeared in the Sawtooths in Elmore County.
The Boise County Sheriff’s Office told KTVB they were contacted on July 19 after some people hiked up to Benedict Lake. The hikers saw higher lakes that took them off the trail and when they came down, they told the sheriff’s office they found clothing and an ID belonging to Thomas.
Crews found his remains seven or eight miles away from his last ping in 2016, according to Det. Max Sprague with the Boise County Sheriff's Office.
“When I came back and I talked to the family, the first thing that I talked about was that we didn't recover everything,” Sprague said. “The reason why is because it was a beautiful spot and he didn't seem like the kind of person that wanted to be buried in some cemetery, and his wife actually reacted really positive to that. She said, ‘had we recovered everything earlier, we would have cremated him and took him back up to that spot because he apparently really enjoyed it.’”
In addition to the Boise County Sheriff's Office, the Sawtooth Outfitters and Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue crews also assisted in the search. Thomas was 66 years old when he went missing.
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