Searchers in Idaho recover items that may belong to missing hiker

OGDEN — A search party looking for a missing Utah youth minister may have found items belonging to the man during a search of Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains.

Jon Francis, the 24-year-old director of youth ministry for Ascension Lutheran Church in Harrisville, left a Bible camp July 15 to hike the 10,000-foot Grand Mogul but never returned. He was reported missing by co-workers the next day.

An official search for Francis by authorities was called off July 21. Members of Francis' Minnesota family and some friends continued a search on their own until July 25.

On Friday, a small group of family and parishioners from Francis' church went back to the mountain, finding a yellow shirt with a green stripe and a heavy brass bell bearing emblems of a cross, shepherd and sheep, which may have been the minister's.

If a link between the items and Francis can be made, that would narrow the search area, said Kathi Engelby, a Pleasant View resident and an Ascension Lutheran parishioner.

Family members said they doubt the connection because the items don't match a photograph of Francis taken the day he disappeared.

"At this point, it's a recovery search, unless a miracle happens and he's still alive," Francis' oldest sister, Robin Francis said. "We want to find out what happened and find him."

About 13 parishioners from Ascension Lutheran went to Idaho to help continue the search. The group is working with the Sawtooth Mountain Guides and dogs, said Engelby, whose husband Bruce is among the searchers.

"The one thing I hear (my husband) say a lot is, 'If it were my son, I would appreciate people doing this, and I'd just keep looking until I found him,'" she said.

The search party is expected to return today, she said.

A memorial service for Francis is planned for Sept. 9 in Stillwater, Minn.