For the week of August 1 - 7, 2001

Swaner listed as 
missing person

---

By GREG MOORE
Express Staff Writer

The search for Bellevue resident Robert "Stubby" Swaner remains a missing-person case after police have found no sign of him, an accident or a crime.

Swaner’s vehicle was found July 12 on Fisher Creek Road, on the western side of the White Cloud Mountains in southern Custer County. A search of the area begun the following day was abandoned July 18.

Custer County Sheriff Robert Taylor did not return phone calls from the Mountain Express requesting information on the search. However, Bellevue Marshal Randy Tremble was briefed by Taylor in Challis on Friday.

"They’ve done saturation searching in the Fisher Creek area and they have been unable to locate him or any sign that he may have passed away up there," Tremble said. "There’s no indication that he’s the victim of foul play. He may have fallen or gotten injured out there, we don’t know."

However, Tremble described Swaner as a "free spirit," and said he had several times previously left the area without telling anyone.

"All the evidence now points to a guy who willfully left the area because he wanted to get out of here for a while. He’s either avoiding contact with people or hitched a ride out of there."

Swaner is described as 65 years old, 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 180 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.