Mark Carlson was 17 when he went on his first hunting trip to Huckleberry Flats, between Horseshoe Bend and Placerville, Idaho. He left on October 20, 1974, and when he did not return his family reported him missing; his body was found on October 22, 1974, lying face down in a small creek with a single gunshot wound to the stomach.

Investigators noted an indentation on the back of his head and evidence suggesting his body had been dragged to the creek. Personal items were left at the scene, so robbery was considered unlikely, and suicide was officially ruled out. Two theories remained: homicide or an accidental shooting during hunting with the shooter fleeing in panic. Mark’s rifle was found about a mile from the body two years later; his hunting jacket was never recovered. No suspects have been named and no arrests have been announced.

Did anyone in the Huckleberry Flats area at the time have information about hunters or strangers in the woods that October?