On October 21, 1961, the opening day of deer season, 19-year-old Floyd Ival Dorsey was hunting with school friends and some of their parents near Monument Peak in Cassia County, Idaho. An unexpected and severe blizzard descended upon the area, creating perilous conditions with drastically reduced visibility and dropping temperatures. Dorsey, having shot a deer with a borrowed rifle, set out to retrieve the animal.
He was last seen at a camp near Pickett's Corral, which was about 500 yards from his own camp. Witnesses reported seeing him warm his hands by a fire before he walked back out into the intense storm.
An extensive search was launched in the wake of the blizzard. Search parties were able to locate the deer that Dorsey had shot, but there was no sign of the young hunter or the rifle he had been carrying. The complete lack of any physical evidence or clues only served to deepen the mystery of his disappearance. The severe weather conditions that day were not to be underestimated, as reports from the time indicated that several other hunters were left stranded by the storm across the state, and tragically, two other hunters in Cassia County lost their lives.
Over the years, the case has remained open, a persistent source of pain and uncertainty for Dorsey's family and community. Decades after he vanished, unsubstantiated reports have surfaced, including a story about a man from Murtaugh, Idaho, named Pickett who may have given Dorsey a ride in his truck. According to this account, Dorsey rode in the back of the truck for a distance before asking to be let out at the bottom of a hill to continue on foot. However, authorities have never been able to verify this story, and attempts by Dorsey's family to locate the man named Pickett have not yielded any substantial leads. In more recent years, the Cassia County Sheriff's Office has renewed pleas for public assistance, particularly asking hunters and others who frequent the South Hills area to be on the lookout for any signs of human remains, aged clothing, or a rifle that could finally bring some measure of closure to this long-standing and heartbreaking case.Last Seen: Oct 21, 1961
