No sign has been found of a man missing in the White Cloud Mountains since Monday.
The Custer County Sheriff's Office reported that William U. Helfferich, 53, a resident of Eagle, was hunting on Sunday in the area of Strawberry Basin and Mountain Home Canyon, just south of the headwaters of the Fourth of July Creek drainage. In a news release, the office stated that Helfferich's wife reported him missing on Monday after he failed to call her Sunday night.
Helfferich, 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 205 pounds, was reported to be wearing camouflage clothing, an orange baseball cap and carrying a small pack. His truck was found on Fourth of July Creek Road about nine miles from state Highway 75.
According to the sheriff's office, a plane from Middle Fork Aviation flew over the area Monday until bad weather moved in.
Five teams from the Custer County Sheriff's Office, Custer County Search and Rescue, and the U.S. Forest Service began the ground search on Tuesday. One team was on motorcycles and one on horses. A helicopter and a plane from Reeder Air Service in Twin Falls searched from the air.
The search was continuing Wednesday and Thursday, with the help of two private teams and a dog. Some searchers were out on snowshoes.
"We've had a number of hunters come forward and volunteer their services and a number of family members gathering in the area," said Sara Baldwin, area ranger for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
Meanwhile, another search, for lost hiker Jon Francis, 24, continues in the Sawtooth Mountains. Francis' family has hired searchers to continue looking for his body after the official search was discontinued. Francis was lost after reaching the summit of Grand Mogul, near Redfish Lake, on July 15. His father, David Francis, said dogs had found clues that Francis had come at least partway down the northeast ridge of the mountain. More searching is scheduled for this weekend.
