David Francis and Brian Swanson are separated by 181 miles and 20 years but connected by heartache no father should have to bear. Each has searched for a lost son.  Francis, who lives in Stillwater, spent more than a year looking for his son, Jon, who disappeared while climbing in Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains in 2006.

Now Francis is helping Swanson, of Marshall, Minn., find his son.  Nineteen-year-old Brandon Swanson was returning home May 14 after a party in Canby, Minn., when his car went into a ditch on a gravel road. He called home at 1:54 a.m. and asked his parents to pick him up near Lynd. He said he would walk toward town.

As Brian and Annette Swanson drove toward Lynd, Brian talked to Brandon on his cell phone.  "I talked to him for 47 minutes, and all of a sudden, he said, 'Oh, s—-!' and the phone went dead," Brian Swanson said.  It was 3:10 a.m.

"We haven't been able to get in contact with him since," he said.  The Swansons kept calling but got his voice mail. About 6:30 a.m., they called the sheriff's office and reported their son missing.

They've been searching ever since. David Francis is convinced Brandon will be found.

"We'll find him. We'll find Brandon," he said. "But it's harder than we thought it would be. ... The ground teams have not found a single clue. We have no article of clothing, have no footprints, have no clear idea which direction he was traveling."

David Francis said he is focusing on the moment that Brandon's phone cut off.  "I'm looking for the 'Oh, s---!' spot," he said. "Where in his walk he might have slipped into the river, an abandoned cistern or a trench. I'm looking for the spot where we believe we had a mishap."


ADVICE, COMFORT

David Francis and his wife, Linda, joined the search for Brandon around Memorial Day. A volunteer who had helped them search for Jon was helping the Swansons, too, and he put the families in touch with each other. After Jon disappeared in July 2006, the Francis family launched the Jon Francis Foundation, which is dedicated to getting information and advice to families searching for people missing in the wild.

David Francis, 64, is a former Navy captain and retired businessman who ran unsuccessfully for the Minnesota Senate in 2006. To help in the search for Jon, he raised money, took search-and-rescue classes, bought equipment and learned to climb. Two mountain guides found Jon's body in July 2007 on Grand Mogul Mountain, about 1,500 feet below the summit Jon had climbed.

The Francis’ have visited the Swansons three times and regularly communicate with the couple and offer advice. They made the trip to southwestern Minnesota again last weekend and helped organize a massive search that included 114 volunteers.

The official search for Brandon was called off six days after he disappeared. The Francis’ helped make "Missing" posters and suggested ways to organize food and water for volunteers and to raise money for the "Search for Brandon Swanson" fund. They also put the Swansons in touch with canine search teams and a professionally trained search manager, Gary Peterson, who is leading the search for Brandon.

When David Francis spotted Brian Swanson writing checks at the search headquarters last weekend, he said: "Brian, you've got to get a treasurer."  David Francis' organizational and search-and-rescue skills have been invaluable, Brian Swanson said, and Linda Francis has been a comforting presence.

"They've been very supportive. They talked with us, they listened to us," Brian Swanson said.

"Emotionally, that has really helped. Coming from somebody who has gone through this terrible situation. I hope nobody else ever has to go through this — I wish it would never happen again to anybody. It's just so painful."

Annette Swanson said she immediately felt better after talking to Linda Francis for the first time.

"When you're thrown into this — and you're literally just thrown into this — there's not a lot of people, especially in our rural area, who can comprehend what this is and how difficult it is," she said. "To be able to connect with Linda was such a comfort. Unfortunately, she's been through it, but that enabled her to offer words of advice, words of comfort and just be there."

Linda Francis said both women cried during their first phone conversation. "I said, 'This is crummy. Nobody should have to go through this, but here we are,' " Francis said. "I just validated what she was feeling — been there, done that. It's just important to show up. That's the important part. Just to show up, and hold her hand, and give her a hug."

'BE SAFE'

Annette Swanson said her greatest fear is that people will forget her son.

"I want people to remember Brandon," she said. "Talk about Brandon. Brandon is a real person. He touched a lot of lives, and don't forget him."

He has a smile that lights up his whole face, his mother said, and is big-hearted and kind and really believed in doing the right thing.

Brandon graduated from Marshall High School in 2007 and spent the past school year studying wind energy at Minnesota West Community College in Canby. He planned to transfer this fall to Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and major in science.

On May 13, Brandon went to Lynd to visit friends and then drove to Canby to say goodbye to another friend from school. He was wearing baggy jeans, a blue-striped polo shirt, a black hooded sweat shirt, a white Twins baseball cap, wire-rimmed glasses and a silver necklace.

Brian Swanson, 44, was taking a class in St. Cloud on May 13, so only Annette was home when Brandon popped in to say goodbye. The couple also has a daughter, Jamine, 17, who just graduated from Marshall High School.

"I said the things I normally say to him," Annette said. " 'See you later.  " 'Be safe.' "


TRAGIC ACCIDENT LIKELY

Saturday marked the one-month anniversary of Brandon's disappearance.

When Brandon called his parents May 14, he said he had crashed his green Chevy Lumina outside Lynd, a small town southwest of Marshall. As the Swansons drove toward Lynd, and Brian and Brandon talked by cell phone, Brandon said he was getting impatient and would meet them in Lynd. He talked about walking on a gravel road, taking a shortcut through a field and hearing water running.

After tracing Brandon's last cell phone call to a cell phone tower in Minneota, officials found Brandon's car about 2:30 p.m. near Taunton, about 30 miles from Lynd.

Since then, hundreds of volunteers have searched for Brandon, using cadaver dogs, horses, boats and ultralight aircraft. For the most part, the search has concentrated on areas in and around the Yellow Medicine River.

Since Brandon's car was found near the Lincoln-Lyon county line, law enforcement officials from both counties were involved in the search. Officials say there is no evidence of foul play or that Brandon staged his own disappearance.

"If I had to lay any money down, I'd say we're missing him somewhere in the water," said Lyon County Sheriff Joel Dahl. "He's in an eddy somewhere, being held down by a log. He's got to be here. Everything is consistent that he was walking and something happened to him."

Lincoln County Sheriff Jack Vizecky said Brandon was likely the victim of a tragic accident. If Brandon, who was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed about 125 pounds, went into the Yellow Medicine River, it could take weeks for the body to emerge from the cold water, he said.

"I would say every day that goes by, hope is extremely diminished," Vizecky said. "I would like to bring some closure to the family."

Vizecky said the Jon Francis Foundation's involvement in the search has been helpful. "It's certainly given us the ability to look longer," he said. "We've had more eyes and ears since we had to formally stop this. We want to find Brandon, and that's the whole thing."

"I just keep thinking he's got to be out there somewhere," Annette Swanson said. "We want to bring him home."

"We're going to keep looking," said Brian Swanson. "That's all we can do until we find him. There's no way I could stop until I know where he is. Either way it ends, it's closure."

LIGHT LEFT ON FOR HIM

Brian Swanson said no large organized search would be held this weekend, the first without one since Brian's disappearance. He, however, will be out looking.

It is Father's Day, after all, and he wants to be with his son.  "It is awful," he said. "Every day has been awful, to be honest with you.  "But we're going to find him eventually, and hopefully, he'll be OK. Maybe somebody's found him, and they're taking care of him, and they don't know he's missing."

But after more than a month, reality is setting in.  "If he's no longer with us, which, unfortunately, is the most likely scenario, that hurts," Brian Swanson. He said he gets some comfort from knowing that Brandon "really enjoyed the life that he lived."

Annette Swanson said she clings to a thread of hope that Brandon is alive.  "I do still hope," she said.
"There are times when I think maybe I don't, and then, all of a sudden, somebody says something, and I'll think, 'but he could still be out there.' Sometimes I surprise myself with it."

But she has stopped searching.  "I just can't be the one who should come across him," she said. "That's not how I want to remember him."

Annette Swanson has gone back to work at Southwestern Center for Independent Living in Marshall. Brian, who previously worked in construction, is studying to be an insurance salesman.

Jamine's high-school graduation party, originally scheduled for the end of May, will be held next month.

"We're very proud of her, of course, and Brandon, if he were here, he would be, too," Annette Swanson said. "We felt that her reception should be a time of celebration for her, for her achievements. We're hoping that in (mid-July) that that's what it can be — a celebration for her."

In the meantime, the Swansons will leave the porch light on for their son. It's been burning since May 14.

"That morning when we left, we turned the porch light on for him," Annette Swanson said. "Well, we haven't turned it off since. We're leaving it on till he comes home."

The Swansons hope other families in Marshall will do the same.

"We want to continue to remind people that he's still missing and that we're working so hard to bring him home," she said.

"Turn your porch lights on for him and light his way."

One hundred and eighty-one miles away in Stillwater, David and Linda Francis have an automatic porch light that comes on when the sun goes down. So no, Linda said, they have not turned on a porch light for Brandon.

"We wait and sit on the same bench together," she said.

Mary Divine can be reached at 651-228-5443.

Jon Francis was a remarkable young man.  He loved deeply and was deeply loved. During his brief life he left many footprints.  Jon touched, loved and inspired others.  He lived an inspirational life of deep faith, love and service. He was a fun and joyful teacher and Christian leader who attracted others by his down-to earth, authentic faith – and he was never boring. 

Jon was director of youth ministry at Ascension Lutheran church in Ogden, Utah and a counselor for several years at Luther Heights Bible Camp (LHBC) near Ketchum, Idaho. From a young age, Jon lived his faith and  ministry.  He volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, was a leader at Teens Encounter Christ, worked at Gethsemane Day Camp in Minneapolis, a homeless shelter for children, served as a Peer Counselor at Stillwater High School, was captain of his high school and college track and cross country teams, taught Sunday School at Ascension Episcopal, became a mentor at Edison Middle School and led a bible study class at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  While at Ascension Lutheran, Jon also worked as a volunteer at their preschool.  He loved children and they loved him.

Jon ran long distances and climbed mountains, not only to challenge himself, but also to glorify God.  He respected and loved people and nature and stood in awe of God’s creation.

On Saturday morning, July 15, 2006, 24-year old Jon Francis, of Stillwater, Minnesota, climbed Grand Mogul in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho.  He reached the summit but did not return. The official search, led by local law enforcement authorities, lasted for only 29 hours and was unsuccessful in finding him.

One of the searchers brought down a note that Jon had left in the summit registry. It read: “07/15/06. Jon Francis, *LHBC (Luther Heights Bible Camp) and Ogden Utah. Climbed avalanche field to east face and east ridge. Great times bouldering! All Glory to God for the climb and the beautiful Sawtooths.”

A 12 month, family-funded search, employing hundreds of volunteers and professional search and rescue resources achieved the recovery of Jon’s remains on July 24, 2007.  Jon was laid to rest at home in Minnesota, on October 9, 2007.

Founded in January 2007, The Jon Francis Foundation will provide an opportunity to honor Jon’s memory and to pass on his legacy of love, faith and service. Jon understood that; “it’s not what we gather, but what we scatter, that defines the kind of life you have lived.”

My name is David Francis.  My wife Linda and I are the parents of Jon Francis.  Our son, Jon, died in a climbing accident on Grand Mogul, in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.  It was July 15, 2006.  He was 24 years old. Jon’s flower was just beginning to bloom.  Jon was a Program Director at Luther Heights Bible Camp near Ketchum, Idaho and the youth minister at Ascension Lutheran church in Ogden, Utah. He was on his way to Lutheran seminary.  His life, love, joy, promise and future were cut short on that mountain.  Climbing mountains was a spiritual experience for him.  I know Jon felt close to God at the summit.   He left a note in the summit registry on Grand Mogul.

It reads: “07/15/06. Jon Francis, *LHBC (Luther Heights Bible Camp) and Ogden Utah. Climbed avalanche field to east face and east ridge. Great times bouldering! All Glory to God for the climb and the beautiful Sawtooths.”

After Jon was missing for 7 days, we came together in a prayer vigil on the shores of Redfish Lake.  As dark clouds rolled over Grand Mogul, I lifted my son up and placed him into the arms of God.  But we refused to leave his body to the mountain. During our long journey of grief, Linda and I have learned that losing a young child is the deepest sorrow known to humanity.  Not being able to find our son’s body and lay him to rest added unspeakable grief upon grief.  But, we did not give up.  We did not abandon hope.

Over the next 12 months, we organized and funded a massive search for Jon on the mountain and the surrounding forests.  We found Jon’s remains on July 24, 2007, a year after his death, and in the fall, we remembered and honored him with a Christian burial at his home in Stillwater, Minnesota.
We founded the Jon Francis Foundation to honor our son’s memory and to continue his legacy of making a positive difference in the world.   (Mission)

Jonathan David Francis

Jon was our 4th child and our only son.  We had his name picked out for 22 years.  Linda and I were high school sweethearts.  On a trip to Northern Michigan in 1960 we talked about a time when we would be married, have children together and raise a family.  We agreed that our first born son would be named Jonathan David Francis. Jonathan and David; two strong, Old Testament names.  Jonathan:  Hebrew for “God’s gift” and David:  “Beloved.” I remembered from my Baptist Sunday School that Jonathan loved David.    I Samuel, 18; “And it came to pass … that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”

Our son, Jonathan, was born in Northfield, Minnesota, in the early morning of March 5th, 1982.  Jon was small, as most of our children were, less than 6 pounds.  I was with Linda when he was born.  It will always be one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.  He needed to spend his first day in an incubator.  But Jonathan was healthy and handsome.  He had my dark hair and eyes that reflected well on his Irish heritage.  I know that God danced the day Jonathan was born.

Jon’s Faith Formation

I believe that faith is caught more often than taught. Jon caught a deep faith in a creator god early in his life. He appeared to know about the Trinity before he was potty trained.  When he was two years old he and his mother were walking past the church where he was baptized.  Linda said to him; ‘Jon that is where you were baptized.”  He responded; “With water and the holy spirit.”   That was one of the first indications that he “got it.”

The School Bus Stop

When it was time for our son, Jonathan, to start kindergarten, Linda and I attended parent’s orientation. At 43, we were clearly the oldest kindergarten parents in the room.  On his first day of kindergarten, I stayed home late to take my son to the school bus stop.  Linda took our picture as we walked hand in hand down the street.  I didn’t know she had snapped that photograph until she gave it to me as a loving and thoughtful gift for my birthday.

The Boundary Waters

It was on our first trip to the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota, when Jonathan was 8, that I first became aware of his love and respect for nature.  It was a love affair that Jon would have for a lifetime.  He practiced countless, small acts of environmental conservation. He taught us how to be better stewards of the earth.  And he would later write eloquently about his reverence for God’s Creation.   Jon wrote: “I let rip with joy when I quietly peruse the contents of the forest floor.  I break forth when I shout from a mountain peak after climbing to the top."

"My bursting forth takes the form of celebration, of grace, of awe and wonder, of humility and of thanksgiving.  I am celebrating the goodness of nature.  I am thankful for the goodness of the created world."

Tradition, Scripture and Reason.

We raised him in our Episcopal Church - tradition – scripture and reason.  Linda forced him to attend church every Sunday even when he protested.  He would later write about the positive influence of being raised in a Christian home.  When he challenged his mother, Linda would say; “Jon, I’m just doing my job.”  Jon was mature for his age in many ways.  He was after all our eldest son.  At 14 he talked his way into the Ascension Episcopal confirmation class filled with older kids.  Our Youth Minister and Assistant Priest, the Reverend LeeAnne Watkins, still remembers his personal testimony and the deeply passionate conversation she had with him. So she entered him into the confirmation process, early, confident that he “got it.”  Jon would later write about LeeAnne and the youth group and his experiences in TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) as important in his growing understanding of our sometimes confusing Christian Faith.

We became aware of Jon’s gift for ministry to children, when he was in high school. The Ascension Youth Group worked at a homeless shelter for children in Minneapolis.  Many of the children were abandoned and abused.   At the end of the 2 week service period, LeeAnne, came to us and said; “Your son Jon has a real gift for ministry to children.”   He was engaged and pastoral with the children and brought joy and fun into their lives. We were pleased and proud to see Jon live his ministry through high school, college and beyond graduation.

Chariots of Fire

The movie Chariots of Fire was released in 1981, one year before Jon was born.  It would become his favorite movie.  He would watch it, religiously, before every big track meet or cross country race.  It was meaningful and motivational.  Chariots of Fire retells the true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, two Englishmen, driven by a need to run. Both exhibit unbelievable speed, train religiously and share a passion to compete in the 1924 Olympics.  Eric Liddell, a Protestant missionary from Scotland, ran for the glory of God.  Jon also ran to glorify God.  And like Eric Liddell, Jon preached and lived the gospel.  I know that Jon ran long distances and climbed mountains to challenge himself, but more importantly he did those things to glorify God.  Jon’s fire came from deep within.

Jon was humble.

When Jon was a sophomore in Stillwater high school he made the varsity cross country team.  His team had an awesome year (they went undefeated, won the state championship by over 100 points and they were voted the national champion high school boy’s cross country running team.)  Jostens created a “super bowl style” ring for the team.  Jon would not order a ring.  We encouraged him to buy one.  But Jon said; “Dad, I don’t need a ring.  I know what we did.” (Touching his heart) he said; I carry it in here.”

Augustana

Linda and I were much relieved when Jon found a Christian college he was excited about.  Augustana is a small Lutheran college located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Jon was attracted by its community of faith and the school’s running coach, Tracy Hellman.  I will never forget the freshman orientation we attended in the Augustana Chapel with him.  The Dean of Students was talking about the importance of diversity and the need to get to know others who were different than you.  I looked around the chapel filled with blonde, Lutherans and turned to Jon and said; “you are the diversity here – everyone needs to meet you- the non-Scandinavian, non-Lutheran student.”

Jon majored in Religion at Augustana and continued in his ministry. He was active in Habitat for Humanity, Campus Crusade for Christ, was a Bible Study Leader, and a mentor to Hispanic children for Lutheran Social Services and the Sioux Falls, South Dakota School District.  Jon knew that “faith without works is dead.”  He worked tirelessly to understand his faith and to live it through his works.

But Jon, like many of us, had questions and doubts about our simple, yet complicated faith.  In college he wrote about his faith with understanding and sometimes with personal anguish.  Jon wrote: “I know that God may be around but I don’t understand why things are a certain way.  Why couldn’t the earth, couldn’t life be different?  It is not the best of all possible worlds.  Is it our life as humans to keep failing with our responsibility?  I grow tired of failing.  I grow tired of trying.  It does seem like I may never do enough.  Does God ever intervene anymore?

“I do not think that we can ever defeat God in argument…  I believe that we should question God, if we do not fully understand.  I am not fully sure about what my questioning and thinking has done for me.  Why is God not trustworthy?  Is it only our own fault because of the way we’ve made the world?  The dance and the circle of questions continues.  I feel a sense of injustice, uncertainty and a longing to reach points of resolution....”

“If we keep demanding that God will yield up His answers, perhaps someday we will understand them.  And then we shall be something more than clever apes, and we shall dance with God. I cannot defeat God in an argument; I avoid the idea… I return today.  I will walk the middle path.  There is a time to question and a time of assurance.  I will walk the questioning path and I will walk the listening, praying and receiving paths as well.” – Jon Francis

He questioned and struggled but trusted in the Lord. When he was a senior at Augustana he called me on the phone and said; ‘Dad, I’ve decided to become a Lutheran.”  We had seen the process evolving over the years. Raising a child in Minnesota and sending them off to a Lutheran college means sure conversion to Lutheranism.  Jon was excited about all of the youth ministry that the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) was doing and wanted to be a part of it.   I couldn’t resist sharing one last Lutheran joke with him. I said; “You’ll still be a Christian won’t you?” Jon assured me that he would.

It is my deep regret that I can remember having only one discussion with Jon about theology. At dinner one night I said; “Jon, when I get to heaven I’m going to ask God why She didn’t do a better job in creation.  Why is our world so full of chaos, tribal warfare and violence?”   He thought for a minute as he often did and responded; “Dad isn’t that kind of arrogant?”  I quickly said; “Perhaps, but I think I deserve to know.  And by the way, if there is no heaven I’m really going to be mad!”

Jon Got it!

The hallmark of Jon’s brief life is:  he met people where they were and loved them with unconditional love. I believe in my heart that, through my son’s eyes, Jon saw the world as God’s wonderful creation that cried out for protection and preservation. Jon saw all of the creatures in the world as God’s Creatures, worthy of respect.  And my son Jon saw ALL PEOPLE as God’s Children worthy of unconditional love.

Jon called home the week before he climbed Grand Mogul.  That was the last time I spoke with my son.  He said; “Dad, I know you would like me to be in Minnesota and closer to home, but my ministry is out here.” I said; “Jon, I know.  It’s called leaving home.”  It’s all right. We all leave home.” 

To Honor His Memory.

In addition to the foundation, many people have done many acts of remembrance and we plan more to honor Jon’s life.

•    The Post Card - A Colorful and Vibrant Tribute to his friend
•    Jon Francis  3200 Team Race – Stillwater High School Pony Classic
•    Seattle Marathon
•    Jon Francis Half Marathon- May 2009, Stillwater
•    Arbor Day Tree – Stonebridge Elementary
•    The Jonathan Tree- Ogden Botanical Garden

Lake Jon

On the north side of Grand Mogul is a small, unnamed lake.  In July 2006, when I first began studying maps of the Sawtooth Mountains, I was struck by the curiosity that the lake had no name.  That summer we began to refer to it as “Lake Jon.”  It became a landmark, a campsite and a rendezvous point in our searches.  Before we left Idaho, Linda and I carried a marker to “Lake Jon”, dug a hole and secured the Lake Jon sign in the ground.

•    Searching for Jon –  The Book
     Massive Search
     Wonderful Discoveries.

As printed in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 10, 2007
Section: Local
Edition: St. Paul
Page: B1

'JON SAW GOD IN ALL CREATION AND KNEW IT WAS ALL GOOD'

FAMILY AND FRIENDS FILLED A LOCAL CHURCH TO REMEMBER 24-YEAR-OLD JON FRANCIS AND HONOR HIS LOVE OF THE NATURAL WORLD, WHERE HE DIED 15 MONTHS AGO WHILE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING.

By MARY DIVINE Pioneer Press

On Tuesday, David and Linda Francis added another anniversary to a lengthy calendar of mourning. The Stillwater couple each year will mark their son Jon's birthday, the day he disappeared while climbing in Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains and the day two mountain guides found his body on Grand Mogul Mountain, about 1,500 feet below the summit he had climbed.

And now, Oct. 9, will be remembered as the day they buried their son's ashes in Stillwater Township's Historic Rutherford Cemetery under a steel-gray sky.
Friends, family members and even a search-and-rescue dog packed the Episcopal Church of the Ascension on Tuesday afternoon to say goodbye to Jon, bringing some closure to an ordeal that began almost 15 months ago.

Jon, 24, disappeared in the Sawtooth Mountains on July 15, 2006. After a lengthy search involving hundreds of volunteers, his body was found more than a year later, on July 24. It is believed he died as the result of a fall.

The Celtic funeral honored Jon's Irish heritage and focused on his love of nature and God. The Celts believed God was in everything, said the Rev. Dr. Jerry Doherty.

"In a way, Jon is part of creation now," Doherty said. "Every time you see the sun rise, the moon coming up over the water, the leaves changing in the fall and new flowers in the spring, just as surely you're seeing Jon."

Doherty said Jon especially loved being in the mountains and died doing something he loved. He quoted the last note Jon ever wrote, the message he left in a log book on the mountain's summit: "Great times bouldering! ... All glory to God for the climb and the beautiful Sawtooths."

At the time he disappeared, Jon was working at Luther Heights Bible Camp near Ketchum, Idaho. He also was a youth minister in Ogden, Utah. Jon was majoring in religion at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., and had planned to go to seminary to become a minister. Jon saw God in all creation and knew it was all good," said David Francis, Jon's father. "He had a pastor's heart: He was full of love for others."

David Francis read part of a paper that Jon wrote for a religion class at Augustana. "I do not know why, but I am closer to God when I am outside," Jon had written. "... I give glory to God for her abundant creation. There is goodness all round. There is goodness deep within."

The service began with a reading from Isaiah 55: "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."

It ended with David Francis accompanying his wife, Linda, and their three daughters, Robin Francis, Jocelyn Plass and Melissa Runkel, and their families from the church.

Tears filled his eyes as he cradled in his arms a simple wooden box containing his son's ashes.

Mary Divine can be reached at mdivine@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5443.

The family of Jon Francis, missing climber, confirms that his remains were found Tuesday afternoon on the north face of Grand Mogul in the Sawtooth mountain range of Idaho.

Stanley, Idaho--Jon Francis climbed the Grand Mogul, a majestic mountain in the Sawtooth range of Idaho on July 15, 2006. He disappeared on the descent. Search efforts were begun by the Custer County Sheriff’s Office the day after Jon disappeared. Once the official efforts concluded, the family continued the search, enlisting the aid of a Search Manager, Jeff Hasse, President of Search, Rescue, and Recovery Resources of Minnesota. Search efforts were conducted from July 16, 2006 until they were suspended due to poor search conditions on October 22, 2006.

The search resumed June 15, 2007. Evidence developed by multiple Human Remains Detection dogs suggested that Jon’s remains were somewhere on the technical north face of the mountain. Due to their expertise in this severe terrain, the Sawtooth Mountain Guides were tasked to search the multiple gullies within the north face. On Tuesday afternoon at approximately 3:45, human remains were found in a gulley at 8,248 feet. Erik Leidecker, Managing Partner of Sawtooth Mountain Guides notified the family and the Custer County Sheriff’s Department shortly thereafter.

On Wednesday, July 25, 2007, the Custer County Search and Rescue, Sawtooth Search and Rescue, and Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue teams recovered Jon’s remains under the direction of Tim Eikens, Custer County Sheriff. The remains have been preliminarily identified as Jon Francis based on personal possessions found in the area.

The Francis family is extremely grateful for the support provided by the many individuals involved in the search and for the generous contributions received. "We have worked long and hard to find Jon and to bring him down from the mountain. After we lay Jon to rest, we can move on to the next phase of our mission by spreading our hard-earned lessons," says Jon's father. In fact, Jon's spirit will live on through the Jon Francis Foundation established in early 2007. “It is
not what you gather, but what you scatter” is a saying that describes Jon's essence. The Foundation will focus on its mission of providing resources to families who are searching for lost loved ones and to educate climbers and hikers about wilderness safety.