Francis J. Lavelle, 44, disappeared after a summer backcountry trip in Alaska that began July 7, 1985. Lavelle and a companion, Michael Schertz, were flown into the Shovel Lake area near Willow for a planned week-long excursion with a scheduled pickup on July 14. The pickup date passed with no sign of either man. Schertz was found on July 17; he told authorities he did not know Lavelle’s whereabouts. The Alaska State Troopers were notified on July 23, 1985, and multiple searches were conducted in the remote Lake Creek and Shovel Lake terrain, but no trace of Lavelle was ever recovered. The case remains open and cold, with no confirmed whereabouts or fate for Lavelle.

Did anyone who knew Francis or who was in the Willow/Shovel Lake area in July 1985 see him or have information about that trip?