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KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) -- A cadaver dog has picked up the scent of a Utah hiker missing since July in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains of central Idaho, his father said.
The dog last weekend picked up the scent while searching for Jon Francis, 24, the director of youth ministry for Ascension Lutheran Church in Harrisville, Utah.
Francis left a Bible camp July 15 to hike the 10,000-foot Grand Mogul. He signed the log book but never returned.
"We've covered a lot of areas, and we've narrowed it down to the north side of Grand Mogul," said David Francis of Stillwater, Minn.
"We have a high level of confidence that's where Jon is, on the north side near the northeast ridge at about 8,000 feet or perhaps higher," he told the Idaho Mountain Express.
Francis said the dog indicated something in an area with crevasses and granite cliffs above the tree line.
"What we need now are very skilled, experienced mountaineers with technical skills because this is a steep, challenging area," he said. "We need to brief them ahead of time to make sure they're qualified. We've turned a lot of people back."
He wants to recover his son's body before winter. The family hired Sawtooth Mountain Guides to aid in the search after becoming dissatisfied with Idaho officials.
More than 300 people, mainly volunteers, have taken part in the search, Francis said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
